New York Governor Kathy Hochul accelerated the procurement of blockchain analytics technology “to strengthen the [New York State Department of Financial Services] ability to enforce anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act laws.”
The new measures were taken in the context of the Governor’s Executive Order “directing all New York State agencies and authorities to review and divest public funds from Russia following Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked attack on Ukraine.” The technology subject to accelerated procurement would support the Department’s ability “to detect exposure among DFS-licensed virtual currency businesses” to sanctioned entities including Russian individuals and banks. The Governor stated that “leveraging purpose-built technologies and service providers for virtual currency protects the financial system from illicit activity including money laundering, terrorist financing and ransomware activity.
The Governor noted that it is DFS’s intention to “become a leading, data-driven regulator of the global financial services sector.”
