Ireland Unveils National Anti-Money Laundering Strategy Targeting Private Crypto Wallets

Ireland published its first National Anti-Money Laundering Strategy on Thursday, establishing enhanced supervision over digital assets and private wallets as part of a financial crime framework running through 2030.

Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris warned that criminal groups are leveraging technological advances and international financial structures to hide illicit revenues. The strategy sends a clear message that “Ireland will not be a safe place to launder criminal proceeds,” Harris said.

The framework completes Ireland’s implementation of the EU Transfer of Funds Regulation. Under the newly finalized provisions, crypto-asset service providers must conduct enhanced checks on transactions involving private crypto wallets held outside regulated entities, as well as stricter due diligence on overseas crypto firms. The rules enforce the Financial Action Task Force travel rule, requiring originator and beneficiary details to accompany transfers.

These obligations apply directly to firms holding full authorization under the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets framework. Ireland imposed a tight 12-month grandfathering timeline for crypto firms compared to the 18-month window allowed across the European Union. That adjustment period expired at the end of December 2025, following MiCA’s full entry into force on July 1. European Union officials are already preparing to reopen the rulebook in 2027 to address non-EU stablecoin issuers.

Thursday’s release builds on a 30-point action plan and National Risk Assessment published in June, which identified crypto misuse among the nation’s key financial crime threats. Under that roadmap, the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland is slated to establish an industry standard by the second quarter of 2027 to verify crypto-related funds used in gambling operations.

Broader European Union regulations arriving in July 2027 will prohibit regulated providers from operating anonymous crypto accounts or supporting privacy coins, overseen by the Anti-Money Laundering Authority in Frankfurt. In neighboring jurisdictions, the UK HM Treasury published draft reforms in September 2025 lowering the change-in-control notification threshold for crypto firms from 25% to 10%.

International enforcement pressure has intensified alongside national reforms. In a July report, the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force stated that decentralized finance platforms with identifiable controllers fall under existing rules, noting that nearly 93% of surveyed jurisdictions had not yet enforced the standards on qualifying arrangements.