AMENDMENTS TO CURRENT REGULATION APPLICABLE TO CRYPTO COMPANIES (VASP)
Amendments to the Republic of Lithuania Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, one part of which entered into force in 1 November 2022 and the other - in early 2023, brought more regulatory clarity for crypto businesses (VASPs), also introduced some additional requirements. Generally, the amendments to the law have been adopted to ensure more efficient regulation of the crypto sector without waiting for the entry into force of the EU Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) Regulation.
The main changes include:
- the requirement for carrying out part of the activities in Lithuania, however, the law does not specify what specific part of the activities must be carried out in Lithuania;
- higher share capital requirements, i.e. the share capital of private limited liability company has to be at least 125,000 EUR, however, it is possible to make only a part of the initial contribution to the share capital at the beginning;
- stricter requirements for the reputation of the members of management and supervisory bodies as well as the beneficiaries of the VASP;
- appoint the AML officer for organizing the proper implementation of the AML/CTF requirements and for efficient communication with the Lithuanian Financial Crime Investigation Unit who cannot represent more than one VASP at the same time (exception applies when the VASP belong to the same group of companies);
- obligations to appoint the senior manager permanently residing in Lithuania;
- prohibition to open anonymous accounts or accounts with fictitious names;
- all authorized VASPs in Lithuania will be included in the public list maintained by the Register of Legal Entities which shall be published on its website.
Having the necessary experience we are ready to help clients meet these requirements and provide advice on how to implement them more efficiently.
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