- Many groups signed a new task force agreement of understanding last week.
- The aim of the agreement is to fight the darknet marketplace.
Although the agencies have collaborated for years, their collaborative efforts are now formal as they prepare to increase activities.
Organizations Unite to Fight Cryptocurrency-Enabled Crimes
With the creation of the Darknet Marketplace and Digital Currency Crimes Task Force on June 20, a wide range of US law enforcement agencies formally announced their collaboration on crimes relating to the darknet and digital currency. The new organization would concentrate on “cryptocurrency-enabled crimes” such as child abuse, money laundering, drug trafficking, and identity theft.
A memorandum of understanding on the new task force was signed last week by representatives of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Arizona, the Office for U.S. Attorneys, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Postal Inspection Service.
The authorities have been collaborating since 2017, during which time there has been an increase in Bitcoin usage. As stated in a statement:
The Darknet Marketplace and Digital Money Crimes Task Force aims to destroy criminal organizations that utilize digital money or the impression of anonymity offered by the darknet to further their illicit enterprises.
Interpol Created to Fight Crypto Crimes
According to reports, the International Criminal Police Organization is preparing to create a specialized branch to increase its focus on cryptocurrency-related crimes.
According to a report by the Indian news outlet Business Standard on October 17, Interpol, the biggest international police organization, has established a dedicated squad in Singapore to assist nations in battling crimes utilizing virtual assets.
In advance of its 90th general assembly from October 18 to October 21, Interpol made the news at a press conference.
Jürgen Stock, the secretary general of Interpol, claims that the lack of a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether presents significant difficulties for law enforcement organizations. According to Stock, this is “because very often, agencies are not properly trained and properly equipped” to deal with cryptocurrency crimes at first.
Stock also said that the key topics on the agenda for Interpol’s general assembly in India would be cryptocurrencies and cybercrime.
Canadian Cops Get Government Funding
Thanks to $100,000 Canadian dollars (CAD), or approximately $78,000, in financing supplied by the provincial government, police in Winnipeg, the capital of the Canadian province of Manitoba, will be better equipped to cope with the use of cryptocurrencies in cybercrime.
The money from the Criminal Property Forfeiture Fund will be utilized for educating five more police officers as Certified Examiners in Cryptocurrency Tracking and to purchase specialized software to monitor cybercrime activities like CipherTrace and Blockchain Forensics, according to Kevin Goertzen, the provincial justice minister, who made the announcement on Wednesday.
The U.S Crypto Law Enforcement
A Virtual Asset Exploitation Unit was established by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in February in the United States. This unit will collaborate with the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, which is part of the Justice Department. In the last year, the Cyber Unit of the Securities and Exchange Commission saw roughly a 100% increase in staffing.
The authorities have a lot of material to work with. Chainalysis estimates that more than 4,000 crypto whales are in possession of assets that were gained unlawfully in the previous year, and the number of crypto phishing assaults climbed by 40% in the same year. On the other hand, there is signs that the efforts of law enforcement are beginning to bear fruit.
