The Financial Intelligence Authority Plans to Regulate Cryptos & Blockchain Industry in Uganda

Uganda's Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA) plans to review the law on anti-money laundering so that it can include crypto assets, according to a November 14, 2018 report from nilepost, a local news outlet.

This comes after the financial guidance from the inter-governmental body, Financial Action Task Force (FATF) which is authorized to create regulatory and operational measures for fighting illegal activities such as terrorism financing and money laundering.

Michael Tukei, deputy FIA director revealed:

“We have started the process by writing a proposal and we are going to present it to the board after it will be presented to parliament.”

EAC Crypto Industry

The increasing adoption of Bitcoin and other bullish cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) as a payment method has created a big challenge for the country's financial regulatory authorities such as the Uganda Revenue Authority and the Bank of Uganda.

FATF advised the government to do everything possible to make cryptocurrency exchanges platforms,  traders and users amenable to the anti-money laundering laws in place.

Furthermore, all countries in the East African Community (EAC) which includes Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan, should properly regulate this nascent industry in line with EAC trade laws, and all traders and exchange platforms should be registered.

As of now, blockchain technology developers and crypto maniacs have to convince the government and financial authorities on how blockchain databases can be managed in a very secure and decent way.

For example, while all crypto transactions carried out are transparent, the crypto users remain unidentified and an individual user is not limited to virtual identities.

However, in May 2018, President Yoweri Museveni embraced the use of Blockchain technology to improve  Uganda's and the EAC’s economy, as Coinidol reported.

"These Blockchain members are people who trust one another and they are like universal SACCOS. The members have access to ledgers because we are aware how businessmen are inflicted by business secrets," Museveni said.