Ethiopia’s Financial Intelligence Service is preparing to regulate virtual currencies, despite their ongoing ban in the country.
As initially reported by The Reporter Ethiopia, Ethiopia’s Financial Intelligence Service has announced that preparations are underway to regulate virtual currencies, despite their continued illegality under current Ethiopian law.
The announcement was made by FIS Director Muluken Amare during a recent meeting of the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) in Addis Ababa, which brought together financial security officials from across the region to address emerging risks in the financial sector, including those posed by virtual assets.
The FIS’s preparedness efforts are being conducted in collaboration with international partners, including the United Nations, Russia, and member states of ESAAMLG. The training focuses on equipping financial investigators and intelligence units with the skills to detect and respond to illegal uses of crypto, such as tax evasion, money laundering, and the financing of terrorism.
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The regional concern over the misuse of virtual currencies has been a key driver of these efforts. Muluken Yirga, a senior legal advisor to ESAAMLG, who also spoke at the meeting, said that terrorist organistions in the region have been using virtual currencies to bypass traditional financial systems, making it harder for authorities to trace and block illicit transactions.
