Australian State Police creates crypto division to track transactions

Law enforcement in Australia is working to increase cryptocurrency expertise and track crypto transactions by setting up a dedicated police force.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has established a new cryptocurrency unit to focus on monitoring crypto-related transactions, The Australian Financial Review reported on Monday.

Stefan Jerga, the national head of the AFP’s Criminal Asset Forfeiture Command, said the use of crypto in criminal activity has increased significantly since the AFP made its first crypto seizure in early 2018. In response, the AFP decided to set up a dedicated crypto team in August, Jerga noted.

The increased focus on illegal crypto transactions comes as the AFP seizes far more in criminal assets than the authority originally expected. The AFP officially reported on Monday that it reached its goal of seizing $600 million from financial crimes two years ahead of schedule. The target was originally set by the AFP-led Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce and was expected to be reached by 2024.

Since February 2020, the AFP has seized $380 million in residential and commercial property, $200 million in cash and bank accounts, and $35 million in cars, boats, aircraft, artwork, luxury items, and cryptocurrencies. Jerga noted that crypto seizures were small compared to “traditional” criminal assets such as real estate and cash, but the added focus is expected to provide more insight.

According to the AFP chief, the environment sparked the creation of a stand-alone team, as opposed to many officers “picking up some of this skill set as part of their overall role.” He added that the ability to track crypto transactions across blockchains is “really, really important” along with national security, child protection and others.

Earlier this year, an official at the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (AUSTRAC) expressed skepticism about cryptocurrencies over their transparency. AUSTRAC deputy chief executive John Moss claimed cryptocurrencies could be used anonymously, quickly and across international borders, making them “attractive to criminals”, including neo-Nazi groups.

Related: Law enforcement should give up trying to access everyone’s data, says legal expert

Contrary to popular belief of assuming that Bitcoin (BTC) is anonymous, Bitcoin transactions are not anonymous, but they are publicly traceable through blockchain explorers. While it is technically possible to run an anonymous BTC wallet, it is becoming increasingly difficult to conduct BTC transactions anonymously, as transactions are quite often linked to users’ Know Your Customer data.