Stablecoin issuer / redeemer in Jordan

Repeated warnings and clarifications of the prohibition.

Not Legal Tender: Virtual assets (like Bitcoin) are explicitly stated not to be legal tender in Jordan.

Prohibition for Regulated Entities: Financial institutions operating under CBJ supervision (banks, payment service providers, etc.) are generally prohibited from dealing with virtual assets, facilitating transactions involving them, or providing services related to them to customers. This effectively means that regulated financial entities cannot offer crypto services.

No Specific Licenses Exist: There are no prescribed licenses for these activities because the CBJ has not opened the market for them.

Implied Prohibition: Any entity seeking to operate these services within Jordan and deal with Jordanian residents or financial institutions would likely run afoul of CBJ directives.

Law enforcement action against individuals involved in fraud, scams, or money laundering where crypto is a component.

Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) Statements and Warnings:

No Specific Classification: Jordan's legislation does not explicitly define or classify stablecoins as e-money, payment tokens, or securities.

None Specific: Since stablecoins are not specifically regulated, there are no specific reserve requirements for stablecoin issuers in Jordan.

None Specific: There is no dedicated licensing regime for stablecoin issuers.

None Specific: Without specific regulation, there are no legally guaranteed redemption rights for stablecoin holders in Jordan under a dedicated framework.

Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Law No. 20 of 2021: This is the most recent comprehensive law that aligns Jordan's framework more closely with international standards, including FATF recommendations. While it doesn't explicitly detail VASP licensing, it broadens the scope of entities subject to AML/CFT obligations and strengthens preventative measures. It aims to cover all financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs) that might be exposed to ML/TF risks.

Identification and Verification of Customers:

Identification of Beneficial Ownership: For legal entities or arrangements, identifying and verifying the identity of the natural persons who ultimately own or control the customer, or the natural person on whose behalf a transaction is being conducted.

Evidence fact jo.aml.ongoing-monitoring not found (may have been renamed).

Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD): Applying stricter measures for higher-risk situations, such as:

Report Suspicious Activities: Immediately report any suspicious transaction or activity (including attempted transactions) that they know, suspect, or have reasonable grounds to suspect involves money laundering or terrorist financing to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-Jordan).

Retention Period: Records must typically be kept for a minimum period of five (5) years after the business relationship has ended or after the date of an occasional transaction.

Designated AML/CFT Compliance Officer: Appointing a senior-level compliance officer responsible for overseeing the AML/CFT program.

Lack of Specificity: There is no specific GST legislation or guidance on the treatment of cryptocurrencies.

Potential Impact: If Jordan were to launch a CBDC, it would significantly impact the landscape for private stablecoins. A state-backed digital currency could potentially: