Finnish Banks Block Accounts Of Major Crypto Exchange Prasos OY

Banks in Finland blocked bank accounts of major cryptocurrency exchange Prasos OY amid fears of aiding money laundering due to the anonymity associated with digital currencies, according to reports.

Four of the five Finland banks it has accounts with have blocked transactions to Prasos customers who use it to convert their cryptocurrencies into euros.

The issue of anonymity of cryptocurrency funds is against the European Union’s (EU) anti-money laundering regulations, which have been recently amended to include digital currencies.

The banks tend to be suspicious about money laundering as companies have grown so fast during the last year amid the cryptocurrency boom. Prasos’ own transaction volume increased to about $185 million in 2017, particularly international transaction volumes.

Henry Brade, CEO of Prasos was quoted by reports as saying, “We’ve realized that the growth in international transaction volumes started to disturb the banks. Along the way, we’ve been given very little information by the banks on what we could do to solve the problem.”

Brade hopes that clear regulations in the future will keep its doors open. However, Finland’s Financial Supervisory Authority’s (FSA) Senior Advisor Hanna Heiskanen said, “Cryptocurrency trading places are not currently under the regulatory mandate of the Finnish FSA. So, it’s an affair between the company and the bank.”

The banks that closed Prasos’ accounts are S-Bank, the OP Group, Saastopankki and Nordea Bank AB. Meanwhile, Prasos still has the support of POP Bank.

by RTT Staff Writer

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