Representatives of more than 200 Virtual Assets Service Providers (VASPs) licenced or registered in the European Union joined together with representatives of banking sector and legal professionals the Workshop “Role of VASPs, banks and legal professionals in the effective implementation of EU Sanctions – suspicious transactions reporting and risk mitigation practices” which was organised on 14 March 2023 in Valletta, Malta, by the Council of Europe’s Economic Crime and Cooperation Division in cooperation with the European Commission, Directorate General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM) and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and Trade of Malta. 

The event constituted one of the outreach activities within the  Technical Support Instrument (TSI) project “Effective and uniform implementation of the sanctions’ regime in EU member states”, aiming to support VASPs, banking sector and legal professionals in practical implementation of EU sanctions’ regulatory requirements. 

Representatives of the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) shared their observations based on supervisory experience in the practical implementation of regulatory requirements regarding EU sanctions. Participants further benefitted from presentations of the Council of Europe experts on requirements for VASPs, banks and legal professionals in effective implementation of EU sanctions with a focus on suspicious transactions reporting and risk mitigation practices, as well as on tools and techniques for detecting suspicious activities related to potential evasion of EU sanctions. Furthermore, the participants benefitted from the presentation on managing risks of circumventing EU international sanctions through abuse of VASPs, banks and legal professionals which were delivered by the Council of Europe experts. All presentations were followed by interactive exchanges, focused mainly on the practical implementation of the requirements. Participants also used an opportunity to discuss how to further enhance the cooperation with public authorities in implementing the sanctions regime and fulfilling their obligations. 

The Workshop was preceded by the Conference “Preventing Abuse of Virtual Assets Service Providers for Evasion of EU Sanctions”, organised for the National Competent Authorities of EU Member States, responsible for sanctions’ implementation and for VASP’s licensing and supervision.

The activity was organised within the framework of the Technical Support Instrument (TSI) initiative on “Effective and uniform implementation of the sanctions’ regime in EU Member States”, funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe, and implemented by the Council of Europe.