Calls have been issued in Armenia for the central bank to do its job and put the country’s crypto space in order. Government regulators and financial sector representatives both emphasize that the industry needs regulation to prevent the use of cryptocurrencies for illegal purposes.
Bankers and Tax Officials in Armenia Call for Crypto Regulations
The State Revenue Committee (SRC), a regulatory body responsible for tax and customs services in Armenia, has turned to the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA), urging the monetary authority to regulate the country’s crypto market has gone. Speaking in the Armenian Parliament, the agency’s head, Rustam Badasyan, elaborated:
Without regulating this area, we allow shady transactions to take place and there are examples of both tax evasion and money laundering using cryptocurrencies.
The SRC official made the statement during a parliamentary hearing dedicated to the execution of last year’s state budget, financial and banking news portal armbanks.am reported on Wednesday. The committee works closely with the CBA and oversees the Customs Service and Tax Service of the small South Caucasus nation.
Badassian also pointed out that the authorities are now unable to take any action regarding transactions with digital assets. He pointed to a case involving the exchange of large amounts of fiat cash for cryptocurrency, in which an investigation failed to yield any results due to the lack of a legal framework for the sector.
His remarks follow an earlier statement by Seran Sargsyan, executive director of the Union of Banks of Armenia, who said that issues related to the identity of cryptocurrency users and transparency of crypto transactions need to be addressed. The banker emphasized that financial institutions in Armenia do not work with digital coins and do not provide related services.
In March 2021, Armenia and other members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) failed to agree on a common approach to adopting regulations for the crypto economy in their jurisdiction, crypto news outlet ForkLog noted in a report. The calls for crypto regulation in Armenia come as ongoing discussions on the matter in Russia are delaying its regulatory framework.
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