The Angolan parliament approved, in general and unanimously, the proposed law on the mining of cryptocurrencies and other virtual assets, a legal instrument that aims to safeguard Angolan monetary sovereignty and control virtual currencies.
“This law is based on a set of elements that have occurred and that, in some way, impact not only on environmental sustainability, but also on the country's energy security”, said Secretary of State for Finance and Treasury, Otoniel dos Santos, today. , during the presentation of the document in the National Assembly (parliament).
The legislative initiative by the holder of executive power and Angolan President, João Lourenço, passed the scrutiny of deputies at this Friday's extraordinary plenary meeting with 167 votes in favor, zero against and no abstentions.
Otoniel dos Santos, in his presentation, recognized that the country already has an unregulated cryptocurrency mining movement with risks of promoting money laundering and financing terrorism.
He also highlighted “the fact that this phenomenon is occurring outside of the traditional control of the country's monetary authorities, as in the case of the BNA (National Bank of Angola)”.
According to the government official, the legislative proposal also aims to prevent the use of these mechanisms for money laundering and terrorist financing from being encouraged.
“The instrument also proposes to prevent, in a general and special way, within the framework of criminal policy, conduct that puts national monetary sovereignty at risk and also to protect the energy and environmental system, thus allowing this reality not to impact the energy and environmental security of the country. our country”, he highlighted.
The coin mining phenomenon has been reported by police authorities in Angola with the arrest of its actors, mostly Asian immigrants.
Otoniel dos Santos also said that the proposed law aims to protect the legal security of citizens “as it is a reality that is outside the regulation of the monetary authority in the country, being the BNA”.
General provisions; issuance, mining and circulation of cryptocurrencies; crimes against the financial, environmental and national energy security system; regulation, supervision and supervision, final provisions are the five chapters that make up the proposed law, which will be further discussed in the specialty.
