US Agencies Form a Task Force to Prevent Crypto Crimes
- Five US agencies signed a memorandum of understanding last week to create a new task force.
- The new task force will target “cryptocurrency-enabled crimes” such as drug trafficking, money laundering, etc.
- The agencies aim to provide increased collaboration and resources to shut down illicit operations via blockchain.
Five enforcement agencies in the United States, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Arizona, the Office for US Attorneys, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Postal Inspection Service, have signed a memorandum of understanding to create a new task force to prevent crimes in the digital asset space.
As per the statement on June 20, the Darknet Marketplace and Digital Currency Crimes Task Force has been formed with the cooperation of a diverse group of US enforcement agencies and will target “cryptocurrency-enabled crimes” such as drug trafficking, money laundering, theft of personal information, and child exploitation.
HSI Arizona Special Agent in Charge Scott Brown said that the agencies “have been working at the forefront of combating criminal activities facilitated through the use of cryptocurrency on dark web marketplaces and other anonymous platforms,” while adding:
“This task force will have impactful repercussions on those criminal operators who attempt to grow their businesses and launder the illicit proceeds through advancing technology. HSI looks forward to growing in this investigative space alongside our law enforcement partners.”
The memorandum of understanding was signed last week, and the goal of the task force is “to disrupt and dismantle criminal organizations that exploit the appearance of anonymity on the darknet or use digital currency to facilitate criminal activities.”
The agencies aim to provide increased collaboration, enhance resources, and disrupt and dismantle the criminal organizations that make use of blockchain technology to obscure their illicit activities. The authorities in the United States have been working towards regulating the digital asset space and reducing the amount of illicit activity that is prevalent in the space.
As reported earlier by Bitnation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently expressed concerns regarding the recent spike in labor trafficking linked to a surge in crypto-related frauds. The agency warned people about scammers that are using fake employment ads to lure people into fraud facilities throughout Southeast Asia.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also adopted the regulation by enforcement method to crackdown on crypto exchanges. Recently, the regulator filed lawsuits against Coinbase and Binance to prevent a collapse similar to Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX.
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
