The U.S. has launched the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, an initiative of the Department of Justice (DOJ), to tackle and prosecute “criminal misuses of cryptocurrency, particularly crimes committed by virtual currency exchanges, mixing and tumbling services, and money laundering.” U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said, “The point is to protect consumers.”
DOJ’s New Crypto Enforcement Initiative
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco revealed the production of a National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) throughout a virtual speech at the Aspen Cyber Summit Wednesday.
The aim of the initiative is “to tackle complex investigations and prosecutions of criminal misuses of cryptocurrency, particularly crimes committed by virtual currency exchanges, mixing and tumbling services, and money laundering infrastructure actors,” the Department of Justice subsequently detailed. “The team will also assist in tracing and recovery of assets lost to fraud and extortion, including cryptocurrency payments to ransomware groups.”
Monaco was quoted as saying:
We are today launching the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team. We won’t think twice to pursue laundering platforms and are making use of cyber specialists and district attorneys, and cash laundering specialists.
The goal of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement initiative is to “strengthen” the ability of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to disable financial markets that allow cybercriminals to “flourish.” The team will include anti-money laundering and cybersecurity experts.
Monaco stated:
Cryptocurrency exchanges desire to be the banks of the future. Well, we need to make sure that folks can have confidence when they’re using these systems and we need to be poised to root out abuse. The point is to protect consumers.
The deputy chief law officer likewise revealed another DOJ effort Wednesday. The new civil cyber fraud initiative will “use civil enforcement tools to pursue companies, those who are government contractors, who receive federal funds, when they fail to follow recommended cybersecurity standards,” she detailed. “For too long, companies have chosen silence under the mistaken belief that it’s less risky to hide a breach than to bring it forward and report it. That changes today.”
Last week, President Joe Biden stated that the U.S. was uniting 30 nations this month to take on cybercrime concerns, consisting of the “illicit use of cryptocurrencies.”
