Interpol has reportedly created a dedicated unit to fight cryptocrime
The International Criminal Police Organization is reportedly planning to strengthen its crackdown on cryptocurrency-related crimes by forming a dedicated department.
Interpol, the world’s largest global police organization, has set up a special team in Singapore to help governments fight crimes involving virtual assets, Indian news agency Business Standard reported on October 17.
Interpol made the announcement at a press conference ahead of its 90th General Assembly in Delhi, which will be attended by high-profile police officials from its 195 members from October 18 to October 21.
According to Interpol Secretary General Jürgen Stock, the absence of a legal framework for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) poses major challenges for law enforcement agencies. “Because very often agencies are not properly trained and well equipped” to deal with cryptocurrency crimes in the beginning, Stock noted.
Stock also pointed out that cryptocurrency and cybercrime will be the main focus of the agenda at the Interpol General Assembly in India.
#Crypto currencies are emerging as a major threat across the globe: Jurgen Stock, Interpol chief
Interpol’s Global Complex for Innovation in Singapore is working on a mechanism to deal with challenges that arise from #Cryptocurrency
— Sachin Singh (@sachinsingh1010) 18 October 2022
Praveen Sinha, the special director of India’s Central Bureau of Investigations, reiterated that monitoring cybercrime has become increasingly difficult. He also highlighted Interpol’s role in establishing and developing better police cooperation at a global level.
“The only answer is international cooperation, coordination, trust and real-time sharing of information,” Sinha said.
The news comes shortly after Interpol issued a “red notice” to global law enforcement in September for the arrest of Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon. South Korean prosecutors in Seoul earlier asked Interpol to circulate the “red notice” for Do Kwon across the agency’s 195 member nations to locate him after the collapse of the Terra ecosystem in May 2022.
Related: Terra co-founder Do Kwon says he’s not making an effort to hide after Interpol notice
Interpol’s latest effort to better track cryptocurrency crimes is not the agency’s first initiative to gain more crypto-related skills. Interpol has been working to gain more expertise to learn about cryptocurrency transactions and identify criminal activity on the dark web as early as at least 2015.
In 2020, Interpol partnered with cybersecurity firm Trend Micro to reduce cryptojacking affecting routers across Southeast Asia. The agency also worked with South Korean data intelligence startup S2W Lab to analyze dark web activity, including cryptocurrency transactions in March 2020.
