Ukraine’s head of the Ministry of Finance, Oksana Makarova, has revealed the country is planning to start tracking cryptocurrency transactions above $1,200.
During an interview with a local news outlet, Makarova revealed the country’s strengthened anti-money laundering laws, signed last month by Ukrainian president Volodymir Zelensky, are in accordance with the latest Financial Action Task Force recommendations regarding crypto transactions.
The Ukrainian law includes crypto as an asset to be monitored, and established a threshold to trigger the scrutiny at 30,00 Ukrainian hryvnia (UAH),, equivalent to roughly $1,200. In the interview Makarova said:
If exchanges, exchangers, banks or other companies make payments in cryptocurrencies worth more than UAH 30,000 in equivalent, they must verify such transaction and collect detailed customer information.
She added that customers transacting large amounts of cryptocurrency will have to “provide comprehensive information about the origin and destination of their virtual assets.” If transactions are deemed suspicious, exchanges have to report them to the financial watchdog, the State Financial Monitoring Service (SCFM).
The SCFM, according to Makarova, can block cryptocurrency transactions and can confiscate cryptos originating from illicit transactions. She added it has “access to an analytical product that allows investigations into the origins of crypto-assets and their uses.” Makarova noted:
It is impossible to stop operations now, but it is possible to block crypto wallets and remove illegally obtained crypto assets. This can be done by accessing the crypto's private keys as a result of complex investigations.
The head of Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance also revealed several national agencies are working on regulations for virtual assets in the country, as cryptocurrencies aren’t yet defined by Ukrainian law.
She noted she believes the volume of cryptocurrency circulating in the country is “quite high,” although she believes in Ukraine “criminals and corrupt officials are quite conservative and still keep the funds mostly in cash.”
As CoinDesk reports, Makarova noted she doesn’t see the cryptocurrency industry as a threat, but sees opportunities for its development in the country.
Featured image by João Silas on Unsplash
