MiCAR / foreign Sancions Law and Risk Management / DORA

The Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR) came into force on June 29, 2023, and will be fully applicable within the EU from December 30, 2024. The goal of this regulatory framework is to establish a harmonized legal structure for persons operating in the primary and secondary markets for crypto-assets.

In Liechtenstein, MiCAR will be directly applicable once the corresponding decision of the EEA Joint Committee to incorporate the regulation into the EEA Agreement enters into force. The necessary implementation into Liechtenstein law will be carried out through the EEA-MiCAR Implementation Act (EEA-MiCAR-DG), which is currently in the legislative process and is scheduled to take effect on February 1, 2025.

Foreign Sanctions Law and Risk Management

In its announcement on September 3 (FMA Announcement 2024/2), the Financial Market Authority (FMA) addressed risk management concerning foreign sanctions law, particularly targeting trustees and trust companies under the Trustee Act (TrHG).

The subject of the announcement is the consideration of foreign sanctions law, with special emphasis on the sanctions imposed by the EU and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which are of significance for domestic financial intermediaries.

Regarding business relationships with connections to OFAC sanctions, the FMA states that these must be terminated immediately if no other milder mitigation measures are available.

DORA

Given the increasing digitalization and interconnectedness of the financial sector, as well as the associated risks in the realm of information and communication technologies (ICT), the European Parliament and the Council established Regulation (EU) 2022/2554 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 on digital operational resilience for the financial sector – the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA). This regulation aims to further strengthen the digital operational resilience of the financial sector within the EEA by introducing a harmonized legal framework.

DORA will be applicable to financial intermediaries in the EU starting January 17, 2025. The exact timeline for its adoption within the EEA remains undetermined.