Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress has been made in the negotiations on the EU Anti-money Laundering Directive with regard to the regulation of the use of crypto-currencies; and what the timescale is for the conclusion of those negotiations.

Provisional political agreement was reached on amendments to the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive in December 2017. They will be published at EU-level in summer of this year with Member States then having 18 months to transpose the amendments after they enter into force at EU-level. These amendments would bring virtual currency exchanges and custodian wallet providers into the scope of obliged entities. Whether we are legally required to transpose the amendments will depend on the negotiated outcome over the terms of the Implementation Period.