Biggest Risk Of Cryptocurrency Will Be Money Laundering, Terror Financing: Nirmala Sitharaman

Mumbai: The biggest risk of cryptocurrency would be money laundering and its use for financing terror, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

In her address at a symposium during the ongoing spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Sitharaman said: “I think the biggest risk for all countries across the board will be the money laundering aspect and also the aspect of currency being used for financing terror.”

“I think regulation using technology is the only answer. Regulation using technology has to be efficient enough not to be behind the curve, but to make sure it is on top of it. And that’s not possible. If any one country thinks that it can handle it. It has to be across the board,” the Minister said.

The Union Minister arrived in Washington this morning on an official visit to attend the World Bank Spring Meeting, the G20 Finance Ministers’ Meeting and the Central Bank Governors’ Meeting (FMCBG).

During the first day of the visit, the Finance Minister participated in a high-level panel discussion on “Money at a Crossroads” organized by IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.

“How fast, how far and in what proportion are we at a crossroads, but I see this as a one-way street in which digital money is going to play a big role,” the IMF chief said in his opening remarks.

Apart from her official engagements with the World Bank, IMF, G20 and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Sitharaman on Monday also attended an event of Washington DC-based think tank Atlantic Council.

A finance ministry statement said the visit will include a number of bilateral interactions, including a high-level meeting with Indonesia, South Korea, Sri Lanka and South Africa, as well as a high-level meeting with World Bank President David Malpass.

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