FIU Latvia hosts officials from the National Bank of Georgia and the Financial Monitoring Service of Georgia

The meeting was hosted by the FIU Latvia 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.

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 FIU Latvia, 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.