WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), members of the Senate Banking Committee, today introduced the Prevention of Illicit Financing through Associations Act of 2024legislation to combat illicit financing by encouraging communication between federal law enforcement agencies and private companies.
"Federal law enforcement agencies already have the tools to combat illicit financing; they just need to reach out to the private sector to implement them more effectively." Senator Hagerty said. “By encouraging collaboration and information sharing, this bill will ensure that all parties at the table work together to detect and disrupt bad actors.”
“There are bad actors in every industry and crypto assets are no exception, but make no mistake: cryptocurrencies themselves are not the problem.” Senator Lummis said. "He Law on prevention of illicit financing through associations will allow federal regulators to work with the private sector to gain insight into the often misunderstood world of cryptocurrencies to weed out bad actors without crushing an entire emerging industry. This public-private partnership will help inform regulators about use cases for cryptoassets and clear the way for establishing federal rules that will keep the industry in the United States and solidify the role of cryptocurrencies as the next frontier of financial innovation." .
He Preventing illicit financing through the 2024 partnership establishes a pilot program for federal agencies and the private sector to share information related to illicit financing. The program would be chaired by the Attorney General and made up of 20 money services companies and cryptocurrency companies that would participate voluntarily. When certain federal agencies investigate a potential violation, threat, or risk of illicit financing, the agency can securely share information about the matter with a private sector entity participating in the program. The private sector entity can then use the information to identify or report potential illicit financial activities. The program provides private companies with a channel to alert federal agencies about any suspicious money transfers and sanctions evasion.
The full text of the legislation can be found here.
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