Cryptocurrency exchanges, exchanges under the microscope when the DOJ sets up a task force

Under the pretext of holding the corrupt accountable, the new task force will tackle crimes related to cryptocurrency abuse.

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The Biden-Harris Administration White House launched a five-pillar anti-corruption strategy as part of a key national security concern for the United States. The strategy includes creating a new task force to combat potentially illegal activity on cryptocurrency exchanges and other services that could serve as avenues for money laundering.

In order to strengthen the enforcement of the anti-money laundering regulations (AML) as well as criminal and civil law, the federal government is planning to use new instruments to investigate and prosecute money laundering criminals. Especially for cryptocurrencies, “PILLAR BA: Holding Corrupt Actors Accountable” highlights:

“DOJ [Deparment of Justice] will set up a newly created task force, the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, to specifically focus on the complex investigations and prosecutions of crypto criminals. ”

The White House mentioned that the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team will be specifically responsible for overseeing “crimes committed by cryptocurrency exchanges, mixing and overloading of services and infrastructure actors”.

The DOJ has also expanded the subpoena powers of certain overseas financial records while introducing new beneficial ownership information disclosure requirements. The department also plans to encourage whistleblowers to pass on information that will lead to the identification and confiscation of illicit proceeds.

Related: House Committee Announces Crypto CEOs Will Testify at Digital Assets Hearing on December 8th

Representative Maxine Waters, chair of the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, invited the CEOs of eight major crypto companies to support the White House’s latest initiative with music. Numbers and the future of finance are celebrated on December 8th.

As reported by Cointelegraph, the CEOs of Circle, FTX, Bitfury, Paxos, Stellar Development Basis, Coinbase and Coinbase World CFOs will attend the committee hearing.

I look forward to hearing from you next week @RepMaxineWaters, Membership rank @PatrickMcHenry, and the entire committee (@FSCDems) to discuss cryptocurrencies and the national economic competitiveness of the United States. https://t.co/rVHAvaPMUd

– Jeremy Allaire (@jerallaire) December 1, 2021