Interpol reportedly creates dedicated unit to fight crypto crimes
Law enforcement agencies are “very often” not properly trained or equipped to track crypto crimes, Interpol secretary general Jürgen Stock said.
The International Criminal Police Organization is reportedly planning to strengthen its crackdown on cryptocurrency-related crimes by forming a dedicated division.
Interpol, the world’s largest global police organization, has set up a special team in Singapore to help governments fight crimes involving virtual assets, the Indian news agency Business Standard reported on Oct. 17.
Interpol made the announcement at a press conference ahead of its 90th general assembly in Delhi, which is to be attended by high-profile police officials from its 195 members from Oct. 18 until Oct. 21.
According to Interpol secretary general Jürgen Stock, the absence of a legal framework for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether poses major challenges to law enforcement agencies. “Because very often, agencies are not properly trained and properly equipped” to address cryptocurrency crimes in the beginning, Stock reportedly noted.
Stock also pointed out that cryptocurrency and cybercrime will be the main focus of the agenda at Interpol’s general assembly in India.
Interpol’s latest efforts to better track cryptocurrency crimes are not the agency’s first initiative to get more crypto-related skills. Interpol has been working to get more expertise to learn about cryptocurrency transactions and identify criminal activity in the darknet as early as at least 2015.
In 2020, Interpol partnered with the cybersecurity firm Trend Micro to reduce cryptojacking affecting routers across South-East Asia. The agency also worked with the South Korean data intelligence startup, S2W Lab, to analyze dark web activity, including cryptocurrency transactions in March 2020.