The US Attorney led other federal enforcement agencies’ partners in formalizing their previous collaboration to battle against crypto-related crime in the US. The move by the five law enforcement agencies aims to formalize the establishment of the Darknet Marketplace and Digital Currency Crimes Task Force.
Five Enforcement Agencies Formalize Collaborations to Establish Task Force
The new task force draws its membership from five enforcement agencies involved in the regular investigation of darknet and crypto crimes as a collaborating unit. Its establishment became public through a Monday, June 20 communication by the Department of Homeland Security.
The Arizona Special Agent for Homeland Security Investigation (HIS) Scott Brown indicated the interagency task force would readily investigate the criminal gangs operating in Arizona that leverage cryptos and the dark web to perpetrate various crimes. He observed that the primary focus of the new joint task force would involve the investigation of drug trafficking, private data theft, money laundering, and child exploitation.
The announcement was made in the presence of the US attorney generals and representatives drawn from the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Postal Inspection Service committed the task force to increased collaboration. The representatives committed to enhancing resource utilization while dismantling criminal enterprises leaning towards crypto-related transactions to conceal illicit activities.
Formalizing Task Force Necessary to Fight Crypto-Related Crime
Representatives from the five federal agencies lauded their collaboration that began in 2017 to combat drug trafficking, digital and crypto-based crime. They agreed to formalize the task force with a memorandum of understanding that would ease the responsibility of each towards guaranteeing a crime-free society.
The federal partners observed that the previous focus on investigating and unmasking darknet vendors extended to battling crypto-enabled crimes. Expanding the enforcement partners’ scope into the cryptos is inevitable, given that criminal actors and drug traffickers are leveraging the ever-evolving technology.
Collaboration is Inevitable to Win the Fight Against Sophisticated Criminal Enterprises
Brown observed that criminal actors expanding into the digital ecosystem are orchestrating their illegal activity masked by the anonymity of crypto transactions. He added that criminals have in the past portrayed a quest to launder proceeds realized from the illegal activity using various means. The technology and digital assets industry is facilitating such channels on a grand scale. HSI representatives observed a need to adopt law enforcement tools, intelligence, and resources as criminal enterprises become more sophisticated.
HSI agent Brown observed the input that enforcement partners portray in combating the criminal activities reliant on cryptocurrencies on the dark web platforms. He restated that the new task force would prioritize investigating criminal conduct and unmasking the anonymous darknet.
Brown is optimistic that the task force will bring impactful repercussions by eliminating the criminal operators devoted to expanding their illicit enterprises and laundering earnings through digital technology. He restated that HSI desires to broaden the investigative space by collaborating with other law enforcement partners to seal the loopholes previously exploited by criminal actors.
Attorney General Gary Restaino appreciated the milestone realized in replicating investigations targeting the dark web to the crypto space. He considered the task force as laying the ground for continued collaboration among the DEA, HSI, and IRS-CI to realize robust interdiction that will deter digital crimes.
Biden’s Executive Orders Rallying Coordinated Enforcement Among Federal Agencies
The formation of the task force traces to the Executive Order signed by President Joe Biden in March 2022. The order identified as Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets mandated the coordination among SEC, CFTC, and Federal Trade Commission to oversee the crypto industry.
Although criticized for lacking substance, Biden’s Order obligated the federal agencies to disclose their findings concerning crypto-based crimes to Washington regularly. The White House issued the comprehensive framework in September 2022, affirming the SEC and CFTC coordination. The new directive sought widespread cooperation between domestic financial institutions, Treasury, and international US allies.
The accomplishment of such a mandate is impossible unless the federal enforcement agencies agree to collaborate guided by a supporting structure. Such was revealed in the FBI’s decision to establish the Virtual Asset Exploitation Unit in February 2023. Its role would involve partnering with the Justice Department National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team formed in 2021 to combat crypto-related crime. Forming the new task force is timely to complement efforts undertaken by the FBI.
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