The U.S. Attorney General (AG) William Barr says the Cryptocurrency Enforcement Framework’s recent publishing will help law enforcement fight elements using digital currencies for illicit ends. The framework provides law enforcement with what Barr terms a “comprehensive overview of the emerging threats and enforcement challenges associated with the increasing prevalence and use of cryptocurrency.” The publishing of the framework comes as the U.S. regulators have been cracking down on illegal crypto activities in the country.
Regulators acknowledge the potential of the tech behind crypto.
The top U.S. officials, including FBI Director Christopher Wray, pay homage to this revolutionary technology, which they say is important and promising. In his remarks, Wray indicates that the new enforcement framework is only aimed at individuals that facilitate illicit trade using cryptocurrencies. “At the FBI, we see first-hand the dangers posed when criminals bend the important technological promise of cryptocurrency to illicit ends,” he added. The director further explained that employees at his agency have observed that “criminals are now using cryptocurrency to try to prevent us from following the money across a wide range of investigations.”
The framework considers the use of privacy-centric coins risky.
A Task Force member, Beth A. Williams, lauded the Cryptocurrency Enforcement Framework’s release, which reflects the DOJ’s extensive cooperation with domestic and international partners. Williams concludes that this cooperation is intended “to benefit lawful cryptocurrency users and the public at large.” Meanwhile, in the document, the DOJ said that it considers the use of privacy-centric coins such as Monero, Zcash, and Dash “to be a high-risk activity that is indicative of possible criminal conduct.”
The DOJ also said that operators of mixers and tumblers “can be criminally liable for money laundering because these services are designed to conceal or disguise the nature, the location, the source, the ownership, or the control of transactions.”
