The recent policing move by the U.S. Department of Justice is on the heels of crypto use to evade sanctions and other financial misappropriation.
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued a report in response to the Executive Order issued to ensure the responsible development of Digital Assets. Meanwhile, the government has proposed a cryptocurrency bill.
The Department of Justice’s report focuses on the criminal use of digital assets. Cryptocurrencies’ anonymity has made them an appealing platform for money laundering and other purposes. Because of its popularity, offenders can now target investors who chose it to make a profit from their investment.
March 9, 2022, the Executive Order noted an increase in the use of digital assets in the global financial market. It was noted that investors are vulnerable to a variety of market risks. However, it also mentioned crimes such as money laundering, terror financing, fraud, and sanction evasion occurring in its shadow.
The Department of Justice requests global law enforcement partners’ cooperation. This will assist them in locating and gathering digital evidence across the border to identify and apprehend criminals. The authority also stated that this will preserve the Internet’s pseudonymity and decentralized finance (DeFi).
According to the report, the US wants to encourage responsible financial innovation. This will result in lower costs for domestic and cross-border fund transactions. It also stated that its top authority actively participates in digital asset matters through IOSCO. Their staff works on stablecoins, “unbacked” crypto-assets, and DeFi workstreams. This is done to mitigate the risks of jurisdictional arbitrage and market segmentation.
The authority emphasized that the government is working to combat the illegal use of digital assets. Law enforcement collaborated with OFAC to combat ransomware activity. It mentioned recent events involving the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s cybercrime group and the laundering of stolen cryptocurrency.
