Central Bank of Israel forces all banks to accept cryptocurrency profits: report

                                                            Die Bank of Israel (BoI) hat Berichten zufolge lokale Banken angewiesen, Gewinne aus Bemühungen um digitale Vermögenswerte anzunehmen, solange die Quelle des Geldes nicht mit kriminellen Angelegenheiten zu tun hat.  Das Verfahren soll die Geldwäsche-Verbotsverordnung ergänzen, die für kryptobezogene Unternehmen und deren Betrieb gilt.

Israeli banks can no longer refuse

According to a recent local report, the Central Bank of Israel has distributed a draft circular supplementing Lawful Banking Procedure 411 to local banks. The document focuses on money laundering and other financial crimes.

The guideline aims to improve the rules for cryptocurrency companies, thereby controlling the risks faced by banks in receiving and transferring digital assets. Specifically, the move represents a direct instruction from the Bank of Israel to all local financial institutions that they can no longer refuse to accept profits from cryptocurrency operations.

However, the circular contains a list of details that a bank should be aware of when processing a transaction involving digital assets. This includes the type of initial funds, the size of the settlement and the risk classification.

Speaking of some of the problems that may still exist, Ron Tzafrati, VP of Finance and Regulation at Israeli crypto exchange Bit2C, said:

On the one hand, the Bank of Israel finally recognizes the banks’ obligation to carry out a risk assessment and control and not to refuse the transfer of money by the bank’s customers in connection with digital currency activities. On the other hand, in many cases the bank gives the banks a wide margin of discretion to continue to reject this, which does not really represent a real money laundering risk.

Almost a month ago, the Israeli authorities announced that they would impose new regulations on the cryptocurrency industry that would allow the use of Bitcoin and reduce altcoins in illegal activities. According to the plan, all crypto-related companies are required to produce regular reports, meaning they will be treated like banks.

Mrs. Freeman and her struggles

In accordance with the new legislation that allows local banks to take profits Cryptocurrencies the case of Esther Freeman is noteworthy.

In 2013, the retired Israeli national entered the digital asset market by investing around $ 3,240 in Bitcoin. Eight years later, it multiplied its investment by 100 times thanks to the price growth of the primary cryptocurrency.

However, bank Hapoalim – one of the leading banks in the country – refused to cash in the $ 324,000 it had transferred from the fiat cryptocurrency platform it had used as its first deposit years ago. According to the financial institution, the source of the funds could be related to “money laundering or terrorist financing”.

To raise her money and help her child buy a home, Mrs. Freeman hired a lawyer and filed a lawsuit against the bank. The court ruled that bank Hapoalim should not limit account activity to its customers just because they have a connection to cryptocurrencies. Upon receiving the case, the financial institution promised to study the details and “act as usual”.

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