February 11, 2026

On February 10, 2026, the Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering body, MONEYVAL, has released a report on the use of virtual assets and virtual asset service providers in the laundering of criminal property, financing of terrorism and the evasion of sanctions.

The report contains an updated horizontal review of measures to regulate and supervise the virtual asset service provider sector to combat financial crime, and identifies risks around specific products, based on information from 25 MONEYVAL jurisdictions. The report, which updates a 2023 first review, has been prepared in light of the rapid development of crypto and virtual asset technology, and places a special focus on how virtual assets can be used to circumvent targeted financial sanctions.

The report finds that, overall, there has been significant progress in developing regulatory and supervisory frameworks for virtual assets and virtual asset service providers, as well as in international cooperation to combat financial crimes. However, challenges remain, including the need to prevent the use of virtual assets to circumvent targeted financial sanctions, a growing concern for MONEYVAL.

Read the full MONEYVAL report here