To foster Georgia's regulatory framework against the increasing security risks revolving around virtual assets, the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities organized a study visit for officials from the National Bank of Georgia and the Financial Monitoring Service of Georgia to Riga, Latvia, for an exchange with regulators, supervisors, and representatives from non-profit organizations and the private sector from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
From 19 to 23 February, more than 15 facilitators and 10 participants from Georgia and the Baltic countries discussed Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) licensing processes, risk assessment, monitoring and supervision of these types of entities, practical cases, regulatory frameworks, and innovative strategies for combating illicit activities within the virtual asset and cryptocurrency space.
The exchange offered a platform for in-depth discussions on how Georgian supervisory authorities can learn from their Baltic counterparts to effectively oversee VASPs and mitigate the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing. Supporting Georgia and other Participating States on this goal through such initiatives is an ongoing commitment of the OSCE.
"With the increasing number of Virtual Assets Service Providers, national supervisory and legislative authorities should have the available information to best decide on their path for regulation. The OSCE stands ready to provide continued technical support to Georgia in its decision to regulate the sector, and we will continue to provide expertise in the area of VASP supervision to the National Bank of Georgia and other relevant authorities," highlighted Vera Strobachova-Budway, Acting Senior Economic Officer at the OSCE.
The study visit also identified current challenges and opportunities in the crypto-regulatory landscape and will serve to improve and strengthen the Georgian VASP supervision framework, as well as enhance compliance with FATF and other international standards.
Georgian participants highlighted that the study visit paved the way for a more effective and collaborative approach to VASP supervision and regulation in Georgia, and added that learning from the experiences of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania would allow their country to avoid mistakes and shape a better plan of action when it comes to virtual assets.
During the interactive sessions, facilitators from the Financial Crime Investigation Service of Lithuania, Financial Intelligence Unit of Estonia, Bank of Latvia, Lithuanian Center of Excellence in Anti-Money Laundering, Latvia's Blockchain Association, Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau of Latvia, Economic Crime Police of Latvia, Cybercrime Police of Latvia, and the Finance Association of Latvia shared their experiences regarding the regulatory framework related to crypto-assets and the supervision of VASP. The Financial Intelligence Unit of Latvia provided the venue for the working sessions.
The study visit is part of the OSCE extra-budgetary project on "Innovative policy solutions to mitigate money-laundering risks of virtual assets", funded by the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland and Romania. The project is designed to support the OSCE participating states in building national authorities' capacities to mitigate criminal risks related to virtual assets and cryptocurrencies.
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