Ethiopia secretly prepares for regulation under encryption ban, FIS director confirms the launch of training program.

On June 9, it was reported that although Ethiopia officially banned the trading of virtual currencies, (FIS) officials of the Financial Intelligence Unit said that preparations were being made for the regulation of cryptocurrencies. The announcement was made by the Director General of the Financial Intelligence Unit, Muluken Amare, at the (ESAAMLG) meeting of the Eastern and Southern African Anti-Money Laundering Organization in Addis Ababa. The bureau is working with the United Nations, Russia and member states to provide training for financial security experts on monitoring and handling illegal virtual currency transactions. “In Ethiopia, trading virtual currencies is not allowed with the exception of Ethiopian Birr, but we are providing training to prepare for possible unauthorized transactions,” Amare said. He added that regardless of whether the National Bank of Ethiopia decides to legalize virtual currencies in the future, relevant technical, human and professional capacity building efforts are underway. Kamal Anwar, UN counter-terrorism project management officer, noted that virtual assets are not only used for terrorist financing, but also for tax evasion and money laundering activities.