Crypto-Haven Watchdog Urges Crackdown to Thwart Fraud Schemes

Estonia, embroiled in one of Europe’s largest money-laundering scandals, needs to enforce stricter licensing rules for crypto-asset firms to prevent the proliferation of fraudulent investment and dirty-money schemes, according to its financial watchdog.

While Estonia has tightened rules and cut money-laundering risks in its financial sector since before the eruption of the Danske Bank A/S scandal, it has issued about 1,000 licenses in just over a year to companies offering cryptocurrency services. In some cases, they have been used to “create credibility for some evil schemes,” Andre Nomm, Estonian Financial Supervision Authority’s management board member, said in a phone interview. ...