Ireland Drops 30-Point Crime Plan, Tells Casinos to KYC the Coins 🪙

Ireland on Thursday published a new National Risk Assessment on money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing, paired with a 30-point action plan that places crypto-assets among its top evolving threats. The government framed the exercise as preparation for the country's 2028 Mutual Evaluation by the Financial Action Task Force, the global AML standard-setter. Ireland's overall money laundering threat was rated moderate and its terrorist financing threat was rated low, with the assessment noting that criminal networks are "increasingly combining traditional cash-based methods with digital innovations" including crypto-assets, money mule networks and "complex layering techniques."

The plan's most specific crypto measure tasks the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland with establishing an industry standard for accepting "crypto-related activities as a source of funds," requiring firms to perform due diligence and confirm the money is legitimate. That standard is slated for the second quarter of 2027. Separately, the Central Bank is directed to build a "systematic understanding" of how emerging technologies, including AI, are creating fresh vulnerabilities and new tools for anti-money laundering work.

Broader measures include new powers for AML supervisors to impose fines, mandatory licensing for private members' gambling clubs, a "closed loop" rule returning gambling payouts to the original deposit account, greater transparency over company ownership, and a framework to run money laundering probes alongside tax and excise investigations. The action plan was launched by Tánaiste and Finance Minister Simon Harris alongside Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan.

"Criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated, exploiting technology, operating across borders and adapting rapidly to change," Harris said at the launch, adding that the government "cannot stand still in the face of these threats." He emphasized that financial crime is not victimless, pointing to "older people losing their savings, families being defrauded and communities harmed by criminal activity."