The International Criminal Police Organization is reportedly planning to strengthen its crackdown on cryptocurrency-related crimes by forming a dedicated division.
Interpol, the largest international police force, has established a special team in Singapore for helping governments combat crimes involving virtual assets. The Indian news agency Business Standard reported Oct. 17.
Interpol announced the news at a press conference in advance of its 90th general assembly, which will be attended by prominent police officers from its 195 members.
Jurgen Stock, Interpol secretary general, stated that the lack of a legal framework to deal with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin ( BTC), and Ether ( ETH_) presents major challenges for law enforcement agencies. Stock reportedly stated that agencies often aren’t properly trained or equipped to deal with cryptocurrency crime.
Stock pointed out that cybercrime and cryptocurrency will be the main topic of Interpol’s General Assembly in India.
#Crypto currencies pose a major threat to the world: Jurgen Stock, Interpol chief
The Interpol global innovation complex in Singapore is currently working on a mechanism for dealing with the challenges arising from #Cryptocurency
Sachin Singh (@sachinsingh1010)
October 18, 2022
Praveen Sinha (special director of India’s Central Bureau of Investigations) reiterated that cybercrime is becoming more difficult to detect. He also highlighted Interpol’s role in developing and establishing better international police cooperation.
Sinha stated, “The only solution is international cooperation, coordination and trust and real-time sharing information.”
This news comes shortly after Interpol issued an “red notice” to global law enforcement in September regarding the arrest of Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon. Seoul’s South Korean prosecutors requested Interpol to distribute the “red note” for Do Kwon to all 195 member countries of the agency in order to locate him after the collapse in the Terra ecosystem in 2022.
Related: Terra cofounder Do Kwon claims he is’making no effort to hide’ after Interpol notice
Interpol’s recent efforts to track cryptocurrency crime are not the first initiative of the agency to acquire more crypto-related expertise. Interpol has been trying to acquire more expertise in cryptocurrency transactions and to identify criminal activity on the darknet since at least 2015.
Interpol and Trend Micro partnered in 2020 to reduce cryptocurrencyjacking that affects routers throughout South-East Asia. In March 2020, the agency worked with S2W Lab in South Korea to analyze dark web activity including cryptocurrency transactions.
