Florida legislators have passed a bill last week that seeks to bring the laundering of virtual currencies under the state’s Money Laundering Act, Miami Herald reported.
Sponsored by House Rep. Jose Felix Diaz, R-Miami, the Florida House Bill 1379 was crafted with help from Miami-Dade cybercrime prosecutors and first filed in March this year. Diaz said:
“Cyber criminals have taken advantage of our antiquated laws for too long. Bitcoin bypasses the traditional banking system, and our state’s laws simply had not caught up to the upsurge in criminality in the world of cybercurrency.”
The bill aims to update the definition of monetary instruments under Florida’s Money Laundering Act. It says:
“Monetary instruments” means coin or currency of the United States or of any other country, virtual currency, travelers’ checks, personal checks, bank checks, money orders, investment securities in bearer form or otherwise in such form that title thereto passes upon delivery, and negotiable instruments in bearer form or otherwise in such form that title thereto passes upon delivery.”
“Virtual currency” means a medium of exchange in electronic or digital format which is not a coin or currency of the United States or another country.”
The bill has been approved by the House and Senate and now awaits final approval from Governor Rick Scott. If signed into law, it will bring clarity as to how police and law enforcement officials should go after criminals using virtual currencies for illicit activities and money laundering purposes.
