Bank of Spain opens mandatory register for VASPs –

The Bank of Spain has finally opened the mandatory registry for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) in the country. The bank also dispelled financial institutions' doubts about whether they need to apply for the register since they already comply with AML legislation. All institutions and individuals must apply for the registry if they want to provide crypto-related services in Spain.

Registration for VASPs opened

The Bank of Spain has finally opened the registry of Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) in the country, clarifying the scope and type of companies and individuals that should register. According to the statements Sent All platforms offering services in Spain, including those not located in the country, must register in the virtual office of the Bank of Spain.

The Bank of Spain has also stipulated that companies can only register via the Internet, while individuals can contact the offices of the General Registry of the Bank of Spain to submit the requested documents.

The required documentation is extensive and includes an anti-money laundering and terrorist financing manual prepared by each of the institutions, a risk analysis document and identification documents for all persons carrying out these operations.

Penalties and deadline

The law established Harsh penalties for companies and individuals who fail to register and continue to operate. Penalties for bypassing this registration start at €150,000 (~$175,000) and can go up to €10 million (~$11.6 million). Other penalties provided for in the law, which include failure to register with the Spanish Financial Intelligence Unit, range from €60,000 to up to €5 million.

VASPs initially had until the end of this month to register, but the Bank of Spain delayed publishing documents outlining the registration process and clarifying who must apply. However, all parties now know that they must re-register, even if they already comply with other AML measures.

According to local reports, representatives of banks interested when offering cryptocurrency-related services to their customers, doubted whether they needed to register to conduct cryptocurrency-related business in the future. While most experts believed that banks could do this best due to their existing compliance standards, the Spanish bank dispelled this notion when it announced that all companies would have to register.

What do you think about registering for VASPs in Spain? Tell us in the comments section below.

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