The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global money-laundering watchdog, is keeping a close eye on Libra, Facebook’s upcoming cryptocurrency.
Speaking to Reuters, Xiangmin Liu, the new chief of the FATF, said that the agency is closely monitoring developments with the Libra project and that they “want to make sure that if there are significant risks, they need to be addressed.”
The illegal use of cryptocurrencies is probably spreading at pace, Liu said, adding that money laundering and drug trafficking are likely only a fraction of the true scale of criminal use.
“The anonymity afforded by virtual assets is being exploited by serious criminals. These activities are likely to be growing quickly, as law enforcement agencies are only seeing the tip of the iceberg,” he said.
Facebook’s cryptocurrency project has faced scrutiny since it was announced back in June. American regulators and politicians even asked to halt its development, citing various crypto scandals.
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