Pro-democracy activists around the world sometimes rely on bitcoin as a money of last resort, which is a crucial use case that sets it apart from other assets. “As human rights defenders, we work with very sensitive information, and financial information is the most sensitive information,” Open Dialogue Foundation President Lyudmyla Kozlovska told me in […]
Topics
- Arbitrary detention
- Mass detention
- Freedom of speech
- Civil liberties
- Freedom of assembly
- Freedom of association
- Freedom of religion
- Rule of law
- Torture
- Hate speech and hate crime
- Interpol
- Extradition
- Legal assistance
- Prisoners' rights
- Political prisoners
- Political refugees
- Internally displaced people
- Expulsions and entry bans
- Fair trial
- Political persecution
- Death penalty
- Punitive psychiatry
- Schengen Information System
- Lustration
- COVID-19 pandemic
- Rights of soldiers and veterans
- Humanitarian aid
- International law
- Magnitsky Act
- Sanctions
- Attacks on activists
- Selective justice
- Judiciary independence
- Persecution of lawyers
- Corruption
- Polish-Ukrainian relations
- Law enforcement and security services
- Enforced disappearances
- War crimes
- Financial exclusion
Countries
- Kazakhstan
- Ukraine
- Russia
- Poland
- Moldova
- Belarus
- Egypt
- Belgium
- Germany
- Italy
- USA
- Switzerland
- Czech Republic
- Spain
- Hungary
- France
- Netherlands
- Georgia
- Ireland
- Bulgaria
- Sweden
- Austria
- US
- Great Britain
- Armenia
- Finland
- Lithuania
- European Union
- Haiti
- Estonia
- Turkey
- Azerbaijan
- Kyrgyzstan
- China
- Australia
- Uzbekistan
- Guatemala
- Canada
Country: European Union
Industry figures fear EU ban on block reward mining could be imminent
In September, it was announced that the European Commission (EC) would undergo a year-long study into the sustainability of digital assets. The EC’s financial services directorate issued a tender for the project, aiming to develop methodology and sustainability standards for mitigating the environmental impact of digital assets. “There is evidence that crypto-assets can cause significant harm on the climate […]
Submission to FATF: Tools to prevent abuse of AML/CFT laws
Germany, as one of the founding members of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), creates standards for global financial policy to comply with anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) rules; FATF Recommendations lead to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and non-profit organisations (NPOs) to be defined as high-risk organisations by financial institutions, thereby by default opening the […]
BTC Coalition: summary of works 2022-2023
1. Building True Change Coalition and Its Mission The Building True Change Coalition (BTC Coalition) is a global network of freedom fighters united by the mission of harnessing the power of Bitcoin to protect fundamental rights and promote financial inclusion. Its members include human rights defenders, political activists, Bitcoin entreprenuers and industry experts. The coalition […]
ODF’s opinion on the rules of procedure of parliaments and parliamentary assemblies
In light of the ongoing discussion on better integration of the work of civil society in the works of national parliaments and international parliamentary assemblies, the Open Dialogue Foundation has been a vocal proponent and advocate for more transparent, organised and fair regulation, benefitting civil society. We believe that the expertise, input and advocacy work […]
“AML/CFT regulations are an open door for abuse” – Lyudmyla Kozlovska at the FATF Global Conference
Between March and July 2023, the EU AML/CFT Global Facility co-hosted and sponsored a series of regional consultations for nonprofit organisations (NPOs), FATF Regional Style Bodies, and Financial Intelligence Units with the aim of collecting, documenting, and analysing practices of meaningful engagement between the NPO sector and relevant (inter)governmental stakeholders. On 26-27 September 2023 in […]
How to engage in dialogue with regulators to scale up Bitcoin deployment
The EU has become one of the first jurisdictions to introduce comprehensive regulations on crypto-assets. Ukraine has announced its ambition to become a “pioneer” in implementing the European version of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, MiCA. As the third country in the world in terms of cryptocurrency usage, Ukraine has been working on the regulation […]
Submission to the European Parliament and European Commission on the issue of sanctions circumvention
The Open Dialogue Foundation would like to thank the experts in the preparation of the submission. The Foundation would also like to express its gratitude to Mukhtar Ablyazov, an opposition politician and former Minister of Energy, Industry and Trade of Kazakhstan, for his advice. This submission contains the following information: Overview of Russia’s economic ability […]
ODF secures 4 PACE documents in defence the rule of law and human rights
During the spring session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe that concluded last Friday, our representation (Martin Mycielski and Katarzyna Szczypska) together with Judge Maciej Ferek (reinstated after 522 days of suspension for applying the primacy of European law), discussed the rule of law and political persecution in Poland and the Palestinian […]
New cryptocurrency regulations will hurt NGOs and whistleblowers
Members of the European Parliament have voted on the first regulatory framework that will directly affect cryptocurrencies. The Czech Pirate Party opposed the proposal, claiming that it would lead to mandatory registration or identification of cryptocurrency owners. This will pose a problem, for example, for the funding of dissidents such as Russian opposition figure Alexei […]
Italian Senator Mauro Del Barba denounces unintended consequences of tightening AML/CFT rules
On Wednesday 22 March 2023, the Chamber of Deputies of Italy, held a hearing regarding the activities of the Bank of Italy. Among others, Governor Ignazio Visco talked about the recent development regarding AML/CFT regulation. In 2022, for example, the Anti-Money Laundering Supervision and Regulation Unit was established to monitor AML compliance of financial intermediaries […]
Can the EU’s anti-money laundering reform help dictators?
Joint submission of the civil society coalition regarding the Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering and terrorist financing Can the EU’s anti-money laundering reform help dictators? As the European Union gets closer to adopting […]
Statement re. P. A. Panzeri and The Spectator’s article by M. Hollingsworth
Following the article by Mark Hollingsworth, published by The Spectator on 14 January 2023, we would like to highlight the fact that the Open Dialogue Foundation has little to no history of cooperation with former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, one of the main suspects in the so-called Qatargate affair. It is necessary to note that […]
The Council of Europe supports Lyudmyla Kozlovska. “I finally have a chance to protect myself from persecution.”
Thanks to the latest resolution of the Council of Europe, the Open Dialogue Foundation’s Lyudmyla Kozlovska hopes that she will be able to effectively appeal the ban on entering Poland and learn the reasons for her expulsion by the Polish authorities. “The Council of Europe stands up for foreigners prosecuted for political reasons,” said Kozlovska […]
Changes to the Helpline for refugees. Our help is even more effective now
Since 10 April, our colleague Magda Janczewska has been the coordinator of the Helpline for refugees. Every day, from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. (i.e. 14 hours a day), our wonderful volunteers help the people who are in the process of relocating from Ukraine and have asked for help from the Foundation. Currently, seven volunteers […]