The Australian Financial Review (AFR) announced on Monday that the Australian Federal Police (AFP) has established a unit to combat the use of cryptocurrencies for money laundering and offshore.
The unit was created as a result of the criminal asset confiscation command of the force exceeding its 2024 goal of collecting $600 million from criminally generated income within two years. It was established in February 2020.
According to Stefan Jerga, who is in charge of the new section, the use of cryptocurrency in crime has grown substantially over the past several years and now calls for dedicated staff.
“It targets assets, but it also gives all of our commands across all of our businesses that invaluable investigative tracing capability and lens, whether they’re related to national security, child protection, cyber, or the ability to trace cryptocurrency transactions across the relevant blockchains,” Jerga said, according to the report.
While the quantity of bitcoin confiscated was minor in comparison to cash and other assets, according to AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw, a focus on the technology offered advantages via excellent intelligence insights into the economic schemes of organized crime.
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