2 digital currency exchanges under probe in Sweden over AML compliance

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Sweden’s financial regulator, the Financial Supervisory Authority, has said it is investigating two local digital currency exchanges to determine how effectively they are complying with requirements under anti-money laundering provisions.

The Financial Supervisory Authority, known in Sweden as FI, said it had picked two leading exchanges in Safello and Goobit to learn more about how firms were putting the law into practice when dealing with customers.

The exchanges have a combined market cap of around 570 million krona, approximately $67 million equivalent. The firms are being investigated as a bellwether for the wider industry, with the regulator expected to use its findings to inform any future policy response.

In an announcement from the FI detailing the move, the regulator said digital currency firms pose “a high risk of money laundering,” especially exchanges, which act as an intermediary for exchange fiat for digital currencies.

“Therefore, FI has initiated investigations into how Safello and Goobit follow the money-laundering rules.”

As per the press release, the regulator reminded companies providing virtual currency services that there was a requirement to register with them, in order to comply with the laws governing the sector, as set out in the Act on Currency Exchange and Other Financial Activities (LVA).

Shares in both Safello and Goobit fell on the news, down 6% and 9% respectively following the announcement from the regulator.

Despite that, the Nasdaq Nordic listed firms represent two of the largest digital currency exchanges based in Sweden.

The move from the Financial Supervisory Authority in Sweden comes at a time of increasingly robust regulation worldwide, with more regulators becoming proactive in their oversight and enforcement of the rules governing digital asset companies.

With Sweden’s licensing regime already in full force, the authority has significant powers to compel performance among digital currency exchanges and other cryptocurrency-related businesses operating in the country.

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