Cryptoasset businesses in the United Kingdom could now begin withholding certain crypto transfers to comply with the new Travel Rule for crypto that came into effect on Sept. 1.
The rules targeting virtual asset service providers were first introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority on Aug. 17, and see to it that VASPs based in the U.K. will “collect, verify and share information” relating to crypto-asset transfers.
If an inbound payment is received from a person or entity from an overseas jurisdiction that hasn’t implemented the Travel Rule, the VASP must make a “risk-based assessment” as to “whether to make the cryptoassets available to the beneficiary.”
The Travel Rule is designed to bring greater transparency to cryptoasset transfers, making it harder for criminals to use #crypto for illegal activity.https://t.co/kmB6rgMn5e
The same rule would also apply to Brits looking to send payments outside of the U.K.
The Travel Rule was created by the UN agency Financial Action Task Force in June 2019. The U.K. passed legislation to begin enforcing the Travel Rule in July 2022.
It attempts to prevent anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) activities carried out on-chain.
Other countries that have adopted the Travel Rule include the US, Germany, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, Canada, South Africa, the Netherlands and Estonia, according to Sygna.io.
On June 23, the FATF called out member states for failing to sufficiently implement the rule after a survey revealed more than half of them have failed to take any action towards implementing the rule.
A March 2022 survey by FATF found only 29 of 98 jurisdictions at the time passed the requirements needed as part of the travel rules and a small subset of these jurisdictions had started enforcement.
Ian Andrews, the chief marketing officer of blockchain forensics platform Chanalysis explained in April 2022 that coordinating the exchange of information between VASPs cross-borders will be a “pretty hard problem” to solve — at least at the onset.
Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield has resigned from the Labour Party.
The 53-year-old MP is the first to jump ship since the general election and in her resignation letter criticised the prime minister for accepting thousands of pounds worth of gifts.
She told Sir Keir Starmer the reason for leaving now is “the programme of policies you seem determined to stick to”, despite their unpopularity with the electorate and MPs.
In her letter she accused the prime minister and his top team of “sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice” which are “off the scale”.
“I’m so ashamed of what you and your inner circle have done to tarnish and humiliate our once proud party,” she said.
Since December 2019, the prime minister received £107,145 in gifts, benefits, and hospitality – a specific category in parliament’s register of MPs’ interests.
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Ms Duffield, who has previously clashed with the prime minister on gender issues, attacked the government for pursuing “cruel and unnecessary” policies as she resigned the Labour whip.
She criticised the decision to keep the two-child benefit cap and means-test the winter fuel payment, and accused the prime minister of “hypocrisy” over his acceptance of free gifts from donors.
“Since the change of government in July, the revelations of hypocrisy have been staggering and increasingly outrageous,” she said.
“I cannot put into words how angry I and my colleagues are at your total lack of understanding about how you have made us all appear.”
Ms Duffield also mentioned the recent “treatment of Diane Abbott”, who said she thought she had been barred from standing by Labour ahead of the general election, before Sir Keir said she would be allowed to defend her Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat for the party.
Her relationship with the Labour leadership has long been strained and her decision to quit the party comes after seven other Labour MPs were suspended for rebelling by voting for a motion calling for the two-child benefit cap to be abolished.
“Someone with far-above-average wealth choosing to keep the Conservatives’ two-child limit to benefit payments which entrenches children in poverty, while inexplicably accepting expensive personal gifts of designer suits and glasses costing more than most of those people can grasp – this is entirely undeserving of holding the title of Labour prime minister,” she said.
Ms Duffield said she will continue to represent her constituents as an independent MP, “guided by my core Labour values”.