U.S. House of Representatives Passes Financial Services Legislation Aiming To Combat Illicit Finance

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed bipartisan legislation that would prop up a working group designed to probe the use of digital assets in illicit finance.

The Financial Technology Protection Act would pull together officials from the private sector and a wide range of government departments to develop reports on how fintech can be used to fund illicit entities and terrorism.

The working group would also be tasked with issuing regulatory and legislative recommendations related to combatting money laundering and illegal financing efforts.

In particular, the legislation calls on the working group to examine how digital assets could be used by state and non-state actors to threaten the national security of the United States.

The House passed the bill on Monday, and the potential legislation will head to the Senate for consideration. The legislative tracker GovTrack estimates the bill has a 75% chance of being enacted.

If the bill is passed as is, the working group will include officials from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the State Department.

The Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence will also be tasked with appointing individuals representing fintech companies, blockchain intelligence companies, financial institutions, research institutions and organizations focused on civil liberties/privacy.

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