Japan Yet to Decide on Bitcoin Rules Amid Money Laundering Risk

The government is still collecting information on Bitcoin, it said today in a written response to questions asked by opposition lawmaker Tsutomu Okubo. Banks have a duty to notify authorities if they suspect that customers have been involved in crime or drug dealing, it said.

Last month’s bankruptcy of Mt. Gox Co., an online Bitcoin exchange based in Tokyo, brought the issue of regulating the virtual currency into focus in Japan. Bitcoin has attracted attention from authorities around the world who are concerned that the anonymity of transactions may attract money launderers.

Okubo’s questions centered on the responsibilities of Japanese banks used by Bitcoin exchanges to settle transactions with clients. While Bitcoin isn’t considered a currency in Japan, it could be subject to taxation like goods and services, the government said on March 7 in response to earlier questions from Okubo, who is a member of the Democratic Party of Japan.

Mt. Gox was a customer of Mizuho Bank Ltd. (8411), a unit of Japan’s third-biggest bank by market value. Tokyo-based Mizuho repeatedly asked Mt. Gox to close its accounts in the months before the exchange’s collapse because it was concerned about an unmanageable volume of money transfers, the Wall Street Journal reported this month.

Banks in Japan are required to check the identity of people who want to send more than 100,000 yen ($980) of cash, along with the the purpose of transfers, and keep records of the transactions, the government said in today’s statement.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore said last week that it plans to regulate virtual-currency intermediaries including operators of Bitcoin exchanges and vending machines to address potential money-laundering and terrorist-financing risks.