Overview
- The government published an updated National Risk Assessment and a 30‑point action plan in mid‑June on Thursday to tighten Ireland’s response to money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing.
- The NRA explicitly elevates crypto‑asset providers’ money‑laundering risk and tasks the Gambling Regulatory Authority with setting an industry standard for verifying crypto as a source of funds by Q2 2027.
- The plan creates a dedicated national coordination group including the Defence Forces, An Garda Síochána, the Central Bank and Revenue to target terrorist financing and sanctions evasion and expands AML supervisors’ powers to fine and join probes with tax and excise investigators.
- The Central Bank is directed to build systematic expertise on emerging technology vulnerabilities and is developing an AI tool to spot unusual transaction patterns and fraud for use in AML work.
- The measures follow recent enforcement actions such as the Central Bank’s 2025 fine of Coinbase Europe and the Criminal Assets Bureau’s partial access to a 6,000 BTC seizure, and they aim to align Ireland with EU rules and prepare for the 2028 FATF mutual evaluation while raising compliance costs for crypto and gambling firms.