Rise in cryptocurrencies' misuse in terror finance and corruption: EAG chairman

Indore, Nov 27 (PTI) Eurasian Group (EAG) chairman Yuri Chikhanchin on Wednesday said governments need new measures and tools to tackle the spike in the misuse of cryptocurrencies for financing terror attacks and corruption.

Speaking at a workshop on "Innovation Finance" during the EAG meeting in Indore, Chikhanchin said the EAG pays special attention to virtual assets in view of the increasing use of cryptocurrencies in financing terror attacks and corrupt officials' machinations.

"Earlier this year, our Supervisory Forum and International Compliance Council considered virtual asset-related topics. During the last plenary, we raised the issue of the legal regulation of risks triggered by innovation and the emerging financial technology with our lawmakers at the Parliamentary Forum of EAG member states," he said.

He appealed to EAG colleagues from the Asia-Pacific Group (APG) to join these formats to share best practices and collectively pursue mitigation measures to address these risks.

As the continuing financial innovation creates new possibilities for fraud, money laundering, terrorism financing and market manipulation, governments need new tools to identify and counter such crimes, he said.

The EAG president further said that prevention commands special importance as the terrorist threat is on the rise and international terrorism continues to present a core challenge to societies and their security.

The English translation of Chikhanchin's address in Russian language was shared by the Public Relations Department of the Government of Madhya Pradesh.

The workshop was also attended by Vivek Agarwal, Head of the Indian Delegation (HOD) and Additional Secretary, Department of Revenue, Union Ministry of Finance, and Mitsutoshi Kajikawa, APG Co-Chair.

Officials said about 200 foreign and 60 Indian delegates are participating in the EAG meeting, which will conclude on November 29.

The delegates include officials from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and other organisations. PTI HWP MAS NSK