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The Australian Federal Police have created a crypto crime unit investigating cryptocurrency bound to money laundering and other illegal activity, as the Australian Financial Review reported on Monday.
The AFP’s national manager of the criminal asset confiscation command, Stefan Jerga, told the AFR that the unit was established in August and will assist fight cryptocurrency criminals by targeting their assets and providing investigative tracing information to other AFP authorities.
According to the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) in April, cybercriminals have increasingly utilized cryptocurrency to commit various serious offences in Australia.
Australian hackers use this new currency as a means of laundering finance, spamming victims, or launching Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks on companies that advertise online services, such as gaming platforms with large audiences.
The new cryptocurrency unit will be included in the Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce (CACT), which has been seizing illegal crypto funds since 2018 without a dedicated stand-alone team. AFP’s national manager of the criminal asset confiscation command, Stefan Jerga, said that the organisation was expanding its efforts to combat cryptocurrencies by adding a separate team.
AFP officials said that improved monitoring of cryptocurrency activity across blockchains would assist authorities in understanding digital currencies’ potential risks and benefits. By tracking how these currencies are used, authorities can better protect investors and consumers from fraud and other illegal activity. National security, child protection, and cybercrime are essential to track cryptocurrency transactions between blockchains.
The Australian Federal Police have confiscated illicit funds and property worth over AU$600 million (US$408M) since 2020, with crypto holdings being small compared to “traditional” criminal assets. However, the additional focus on this new form helps provide intelligence insights, according to Jerga.
This is a positive development for law enforcement in Australia, as crypto assets have become increasingly popular with criminals in recent years.
The new unit will help to keep Australians safe from the growing threat of crypto-related crime.
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