Representatives of Montenegrin institutions and private sector, participated in a Workshop on regulatory framework for virtual assets and virtual assets service providers, organized on 08-09 March 2022, in Podgorica, Montenegro.

The objective of this workshop was to present the comments to the Draft Law on Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain and discuss recommendations for its improvement, particularly aiming to mitigate ML/TF risks in this area.

The participants were introduced to the latest international standards and best practices for prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing through use of virtual assets and new technologies. The main topics of discussion encompassed definition of the terms and alignment with FATF terminology, licensing and registration requirements for virtual asset service providers, as well as institutional framework and capacities for supervision of the sector.

The meeting was organized within the framework of the EU/Council of Europe Horizontal Facility for Western Balkans and Turkey Phase II – Action against Economic Crime in Montenegro (AEC-MNE).