The regulatory authority warned at the time that penalties would be imposed in accordance with the QFCRA’s rights and obligations to any firm that provides or facilitates the provision or exchange of crypto assets.
According to FATF’s recent report, while Qatar has made “positive and sustained progress” in gathering beneficial ownership information for its near-complete unified register — a consolidation of data on its citizens — there is still more work to be done: “There are still not sufficient controls to ensure that all information collected remains accurate and up-to-date.”
Qatar’s authorities were urged to improve their investigative efforts toward money laundering, and it was alleged its “sophisticated analysis capabilities” to identify instances of money laundering are not being fully utilized.
In a report published on May 31, the global money-laundering and terrorist financing watchdog highlighted that Qatar needs to advance its capabilities to effectively combat evolving forms of criminal activity, including sanctioning virtual asset service providers.