On 6 November 2024, the Council of Europe Economic Crime and Cooperation Division organised the seminar “Crypto-assets and investigations into money laundering and terrorist financing (M/TF): current trends in France and Europe”, cooperation with the Financial Intelligence Unit of France (Tracfin), the French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority and the European Commission’s DG REFORM. 

The event aimed at complementing the ongoing Tracfin efforts focused on developing a better understanding of the crypto phenomenon among its agents, thus enabling them to better detect and analyse potential scenarios of ML/TF misuse. Taking into consideration the scale of the ecosystem’s development and the range of underlying risks, Tracfin recognises the importance of effective cooperation with relevant stakeholders at both national and international levels.

In this regard, the seminar was convened with the aim of providing a platform for information-sharing and coordination between French competent authorities engaged in the regulation and supervision of crypto-asset service providers (CASPs), as well as in the investigation of money laundering and terrorist financing cases involving crypto-assets. Representatives from the French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority and the Financial Markets Authority provided an overview of the evolution of the national regulatory regime governing CASPs, notably in view of the changes brought by the Markets in Crypto-Assets Directive. The authorities also provided an update as regards the crypto-asset service providers registered and currently operating in France, their proposed services, as well as related ML/TF risks and anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) compliance gaps.

The current and emerging ML/TF trends involving the use of virtual assets identified both in France and at the international level were presented. Representatives of the French Ministry of Interior's Cyberspace Command and of the National Directorate of Intelligence and Customs Investigations’ specialised Cyber Unit discussed the recent developments and trends related to money laundering, organised crime and crypto-assets. Finally, the international perspective was reflected through the intervention of a Europol representative who touched upon the impact of crypto-asset developments on the traditional financial markets, main ML/TF risks identified at the European level, as well as the challenges brought by the cross-border characteristics of crypto-assets. The seminar was followed by targeted training on investigating money laundering and terrorist financing cases involving crypto-assets for Tracfin analysts and investigators. The present activities are part of Tracfin’s comprehensive training strategy in the field of AML/CFT, crypto-assets and decentralised finance, implemented with the support of the Council of Europe.

The activity is being organised within the framework of the Technical Support Instrument (TSI) project on “Development of Financial Intelligence Unit’s expertise focused on digital finance and virtual assets”, funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe, and implemented by the Council of Europe.