In December 2014 ESMA published an Opinion to national competent authorities and Advice to the EU institutions, setting out the results of its analysis of the business models of investment-based crowdfunding platforms, their regulatory treatment under the current EU rules and the issues for consideration by policymakers.
In the course of that work, ESMA identified a need to clarify the extent of the risks involved in investment-based crowdfunding relating to the potential for money laundering and for terrorist financing. In order to do so it has sought expert input from the Joint Committee’s sub-committee on Anti-Money Laundering.
This resulted in a Q&A which ESMA has made public at the beginning of July, whose purpose is to promote common supervisory approaches and practices in the application of anti-money laundering rules to investment-based crowdfunding.
The document, which you can download here, provides responses to questions posed by national competent authorities in the course of ESMA’s work on investment-based crowdfunding, drawing on expert input from the Joint Committee sub-committee on Anti-Money Laundering.
ECN welcomes the fact that ESMA made public such document, providing in this way important guidelines to national policymakers that ulimately will contribute to grow a sustainable and transparent crowdfunding market.
