Japan’s Ministry of Justice has announced amendments to the Organised Crime Punishment Act to confiscate crypto assets used for money laundering.
Japan’s Ministry of Justice plans to gradually formulate the specific content of the amendment bill after discussions at the rule of law review conference in mid-2022, such as how to deal with structures such as “private keys” unique to cryptocurrencies.
Currently, Japanese law classifies “immovable property, movable property and monetary claims” as assets that can be forfeited. Movable property refers to cash, commodities, household items, etc. other than real property such as land and buildings, and monetary claims refer to deposits, accounts receivable, and loans, and cryptocurrencies do not yet fall into these categories.
