Taskforce Launched Against Digital Money Laundering

As technology advances, so do criminals, who find ways to act in illegal ways. That’s why Europol, INTERPOL and the Basel Institute on Governance announced the launch of a partnership to cull together a working group focused on money laundering in the digital currency space.

The working group’s mission is to collaborate on and exchange nonoperational information related to money laundering, while also organizing yearly meetings for related law enforcement agencies. The goal is to increase investigations into crimes related to virtual currencies, while also creating a network of experts to establish best practices for dealing with these issues.

Across the board, there is certainly a sentiment that digital currencies have the potential for thieves to find ways to launder money and finance terrorism. Criminals in the digital space have found ways to stay anonymous and almost undetectable.

Europol, INTERPOL and the Basel Institute on Governance all expressed the seriousness and concern of these threats. One specific concern centers around the challenges of cryptography in secure transactions.

The benefits are still being determined, but the announcement focused on the exchange of knowledge and creation of intelligence across the related parties and jurisdictions.