During its extraordiary session, the 16th National Assembly on August 24 officially passed a law amending the Law on the State Bank of Vietnam, the Law on Anti-Money Laundering, and the Law on Credit Institutions.
Under the Law on Anti-Money Laundering (amended), starting December 1, 2026, crypto asset service providers are officially added to the list of reporting entities. These entities must report suspicious transactions to the State Bank of Vietnam whenever there are reasonable grounds to suspect that transaction assets stem from criminal activity.
Article 33a of the Law on Anti-Money Laundering (amended) specifies 15 suspicious red flags in the crypto sector. Key indicators include conducting multiple high-value transactions in a short period without clear business purposes, executing rapid deposit-trade-withdrawal cycles immediately after establishing customer relationships, and accessing platforms via tools that conceal identities or IP addresses.
Suspicious signs also encompass splitting transactions into smaller amounts below identification thresholds and converting crypto assets across multiple types without reasonable investment goals. Based on anti-money laundering requirements in each period, the central bank will submit additional sector-specific red flags to the Government.
Regarding beneficial ownership, upcoming implementation decrees will guide criteria to maximize the quantification of actual control, while the Government will direct updates to the Law on Enterprises for alignment. Reporting entities’ duties will follow a risk-based approach tailored to their operational scale and risk levels, with state agencies conducting supervision based on national and institutional risk assessment results.
For the central bank, the law authorizes the Government to regulate financial management principles, risk provisioning, and autonomy mechanisms, allowing the State Bank of Vietnam to retain portions of annual financial results for national monetary policy and financial reserve funds before remitting remaining surpluses to the state budget. Central bank inspection over credit institutions under special safety ratios is also reaffirmed.
The Government will direct relevant agencies to refine regulations on commercial banks acting as collateral management agents in corporate bond issuances under securities and enterprise legal frameworks, preventing customer confusion, avoiding conflicts of interest, and controlling risks.
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