The U.S. government has formed a new task team of five investigators from various federal agencies to combat crypto crime.
The “Darknet Marketplace and Digital Currency Crimes Task Force,” which was established on June 15, seeks to “disrupt and dismantle criminal organizations” that utilize the “appearance of anonymity” offered by digital currencies to facilitate drug trafficking, money laundering, and other crimes.
Its operations will initially be restricted to Arizona.
According to a press release published on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement website, it was stated on Tuesday that due to the increasing complexity of criminal activities and enterprises, law enforcement tools, resources, and intelligence have needed to evolve and adjust.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the IRS Criminal Investigation Unit (IRS-CI), the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPS) are among the agencies represented in the crossover.
Over the years, all five agencies have concluded several criminal investigations involving cryptocurrencies, which are increasingly used to go beyond the checks and balances of the established financial system.
For instance, the DOJ recovered $3.6 billion in Bitcoin stolen from the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex in 2018 last year, making it the largest financial seizure in history. Later in the same year, the police recovered 50,000 Bitcoin (BTC) connected to Silk Road, a now-defunct darknet marketplace where people could buy and sell drugs, firearms, and other illegal goods.
“DEA is committed to saving lives,” declared DEA Special Agent in Charge Cheri Oz. This task force will actively pursue and expose drug traffickers who are hiding on the darknet.
Al Childress, the IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge, stated that his organization is “increasingly dedicating more investigative time and agent expertise to tackle darknet and cryptocurrency crimes.”
According to Chainalysis data, while the amount of money taken through cryptocurrency-related crimes increases yearly, its proportion of transactions involving cryptocurrencies keeps decreasing.
In addition, the U.S. Treasury Department affirmed in a risk assessment analysis from last year that the usage of digital assets for money laundering continues to be much lower than that of fiat cash.
The decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, however, also poses “national security” dangers, according to the Treasury, as it may be used by “thieves” and “ransomware actors” to launder their money.
