US Justice Department assembles cryptocurrency enforcement team

[Shawn Knight]

In a nutshell: The aptly named National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) will home in on cryptocurrency exchanges that commit crimes as well as mixing / tumbling services that attempt to make it harder for law enforcement to track funds. NCET members will also go after those involved in money laundering practices, we’re told, as well as assist in recovering assets lost via fraud or extortion, including payments made to ransomware groups.

The enforcement team will be supervised by Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. and staffed with experts from US Attorneys’ Offices. Agents from the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) and the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) will also lend their expertise to the team.

An individual to head the new division will be selected following an application process to determine the best candidate. Interested parties should have experience dealing with complex criminal investigations and prosecutions as well as a profound understanding of the tech behind cryptocurrencies and blockchains.

Ransomware has been a major headache as of late, and in some instances, it has serious real-world implications. Attacks on hospitals, for example, could put patients’ care at risk, and the recent attack on the Colonial Pipeline disrupted the supply of gasoline and diesel fuel for much of the US East Coast.

The DoJ said the NCET will not only pursue its own cases, but also support existing and future cases from US Attorneys’ Offices and its own criminal division.

Image credit Rodnae, Vladislav

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https://www.techspot.com/news/91630-us-justice-department-assembles-cryptocurrency-enforcement-team.html

 

[merikafyeah]

Crypto is like cash, so unless you're buying something you shouldn't be, there is no way to "misuse" crypto. As for mixing and tumbling that's a joke. Privacy coins like Monero are already untraceable by design. But naturally the Federal Reserve through their accessory, the IRS, always wants their cut of the fruits of the people's labor in which they contributed nothing.

Until the day I see a hobo bludgeon a bureaucrat with a stack of dollar bills so thick it could leave a welt, I'll never agree to the term "misuse" of money.

 

[Uncle Al]

It's been coming since the first inception of cryptocurrency and we only a few steps away from it being outright outlawed. The issue isn't the position of the IRS or big banks or any of that. To find the answer you only need to go back to where the first Federal Reserve Bank was formed and why it was. The whole purpose was to stabilize the currency and protect depositors from bank failures. Crypto, because of it's very nature is unstable and fluctuates wildly making it more dangerous than the stock market.

The better approach would be a total revision of the banking laws, elimination of the "know your depositor" rules and separating banks from investment houses again. We were sold a bill of good when they told us how it would be safer, easier, and better for the consumer. Like most companies relying on that saying, it was only another way to get at our hard earned cash and steal anything they could get.

 

[nodfor]

Pretty sure that the US gov has already plenty of departments and employees that could handle this

But pass on an excuse for the gov to hire more and grow even bigger? No way!

 

[Revolution 11]

Feels like this is a couple of years late to the party.

 

[Revolution 11]

It's been coming since the first inception of cryptocurrency and we only a few steps away from it being outright outlawed. The issue isn't the position of the IRS or big banks or any of that. To find the answer you only need to go back to where the first Federal Reserve Bank was formed and why it was. The whole purpose was to stabilize the currency and protect depositors from bank failures. Crypto, because of it's very nature is unstable and fluctuates wildly making it more dangerous than the stock market.

The better approach would be a total revision of the banking laws, elimination of the "know your depositor" rules and separating banks from investment houses again. We were sold a bill of good when they told us how it would be safer, easier, and better for the consumer. Like most companies relying on that saying, it was only another way to get at our hard earned cash and steal anything they could get.

I agree on separating banks from investment houses but how in the world is removing the "know your depositor" rules a good thing? Seems like asking for a explosion in fraud, money laundering, etc, etc.

 

[Phaetos]

Until the day I see a hobo bludgeon a bureaucrat with a stack of dollar bills so thick it could leave a welt, I'll never agree to the term "misuse" of money.

Still wouldn't be a misuse of money

 

[Uncle Al]

I agree on separating banks from investment houses but how in the world is removing the "know your depositor" rules a good thing? Seems like asking for a explosion in fraud, money laundering, etc, etc.

It limits the government from snooping you every time you deposit or withdraw more than $9,999. In the past there have been a number of false arrests and harassment of individuals that pay cash for old cars, antiques, est where the seller will not accept checks. The Govt. assumption appears to be that anyone that spends cash must be doing so for illegal activities. Makes sense if the person is a "person of interest" and under surveillance, but for the honest every day citizen it is an over reach.

 

[Revolution 11]

It limits the government from snooping you every time you deposit or withdraw more than $9,999. In the past there have been a number of false arrests and harassment of individuals that pay cash for old cars, antiques, est where the seller will not accept checks. The Govt. assumption appears to be that anyone that spends cash must be doing so for illegal activities. Makes sense if the person is a "person of interest" and under surveillance, but for the honest every day citizen it is an over reach.

It also enables tax fraud. Let the government look at mine (and everybody's bank accounts). I got nothing to hide, all my income is reported automatically by my employer. I can't say the same about anyone whose income is not on a W-2 form. The truth is that in the US, hundreds of billions of dollars are not paid in legal taxes by those who can afford to get around the rules while the wage slaves in the poor and middle classes have their taxes automatically deducted. Everyone should pay their pound of flesh fairly, I'd say.

 

[tellmewhy]

The transactions / exchanges are a form of communication and communication it is private and there are laws who protect that privacy.