Kenya’s government has moved to regulate the operations of cryptocurrencies in the country as it seeks to protect its users by establishing a multiagency technical working group.
Details
The technical committee has been given the mandate to develop a regulatory and monitoring framework for the usage of cryptocurrencies also referred to as Virtual Assets (VAs) and those providing crypto assets and other virtual or digital assets services otherwise called Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs).
What They’re Saying
“The National Treasury has accordingly taken a policy decision to develop a regulatory and monitoring framework for Vas and VASPs through a multiagency technical working group to formulate the framework,” said National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Prof Njuguna Ndung’u.
The cryptocurrency phenomenon is quite novel in Kenya and therefore the country does not have “any regulatory framework” to monitor its operations hence exposing consumers to fraud and scams related challenges.
“Due to the emergence of online marketing of virtual assets and online fraudulent investment options, CBK and other financial sector regulators issued notices warning the public against the use of unlicensed financial products and services,” added Prof Ndung’u.
Zoom Out
The Financial Reporting Centre (FRC) of CBK, conducted a Money Laundering/ Terrorism Financing (ML/TF) risk assessment on VAs and VASPs in September 2023 and recommended their regulation to address Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism risks among others including consumer protection, data privacy and governance.
Kenya’s Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Mutual Evaluation Report (MER) of 2022 by the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) recommended that Kenya takes policy decision on Vas and VASPs.
Source: NTV Kenya
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