Germany Plans to Include Crypto Accounts in Inquiry Procedure, Draft Allows Freezing for Up to Five Working Days
BIBIBI
AT A GLANCE
A German ministerial draft proposes to include crypto accounts in account inquiries and allows the freezing of accounts involved in money laundering for up to five working days, but it has not yet entered into force.
Article
[Germany plans to include crypto accounts in the account query procedure; draft allows freezing for five working days]
A ministerial draft dated October 28 from the German Federal Ministry of Finance shows that Germany's account query system will in future cover crypto accounts. According to the draft, crypto exchanges and other crypto asset service providers must enter clients' account master data into the account query procedure under Section 24c of the German Banking Act, allowing authorities to see which platform a user opened an account with, when the account was opened, and whether the account still exists, but not balances or individual transactions. In addition, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) may freeze crypto asset accounts for up to five working days when money laundering is suspected, and an objection cannot lift the freeze. The draft is still in inter-ministerial coordination and has not yet taken effect; the new anti-money laundering law is planned to replace the current law on July 10, 2027.
Key points
01
The material states that a ministerial draft by the German Federal Ministry of Finance dated October 28 proposes to include crypto accounts in the account inquiry system.
02
According to the draft, crypto exchanges and other crypto-asset service providers must enter customer account master data into the account inquiry procedure stipulated in Section 24c of the German Banking Act.
03
The authorities can query the platform where the user opened the account, the account opening time, and whether the account still exists, but the query content does not include the balance or individual transactions.
04
The draft allows the financial intelligence unit (FIU) to freeze crypto asset accounts for up to five working days when money laundering is suspected, and an objection cannot lift the freeze.
05
The draft is still being coordinated among government departments and has not yet taken effect; the new anti-money laundering law is scheduled to replace the current law on July 10, 2027.
AI-assisted interpretation
The following is analysis, separate from reported facts. Verify important claims independently.
This draft involves two arrangements: first, enabling the authorities to access basic account-opening information for crypto accounts, excluding balances and individual transactions; second, allowing the FIU to temporarily freeze accounts when money laundering is suspected. Raising an objection cannot lift such a freeze. The above content remains a draft and must not be treated as regulations already in force.
Why it matters to readers
The draft involves account information entry requirements for crypto-asset service providers, and also involves the scope within which user accounts can be queried and temporary freezing arrangements.
It is important to distinguish between “querying account opening information” and “viewing balances and transaction records,” and also to distinguish between “the draft being proposed” and “having already taken effect.” The original text explicitly states that the draft has not yet taken effect.
Risks and unknowns
The materials do not include the original text of the draft, making it impossible to independently verify the provisions on that basis.
The draft is still under inter-departmental coordination, and the final provisions and implementation arrangements remain uncertain.
The original text does not specify the year to which October 28 belongs.
July 10, 2027 is the planned time stated in the original text and cannot be regarded as confirmed for implementation.
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Related concepts
Account master data
This term is not in the glossary yet. Browse related concepts in the glossary.
