• The Department of Justice (DOJ) plans to target rogue crypto trading platforms and investment scams.
• Eun Young Choi, director of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), said they will focus on entities that help criminals process illicit money or turn a blind eye to such activities.
• NCET’s new focus areas include DeFi and bridge chain exploitations due to state-sponsored actors perpetrating these crimes.
DOJ Targets Rogue Crypto Trading Platforms
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) plans to direct crackdowns against rogue crypto trading platforms and such investment scams, a top official said. Recently, an FBI report revealed that American citizens lost $2.5 billion to crypto scams in 2022.
Eun Young Choi’s Focus On Criminals
Eun Young Choi, director of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), said her department will go after entities that either help criminals process their illicit money or turn a blind eye to such activities. “… they’re allowing … criminal actors to easily profit from their crimes and cash out in ways that are obviously problematic to us…. And so we hope that by focusing on those types of platforms, we’re going to have a multiplier effect,” she told Financial Times.
NCET Targets Investment Scams
Choi also asserted that her team would target crypto investment scams, particularly what is “pig butchering” – a term that refers to scammers developing a relationship over a period before striking their victims. NCET was formed by DOJ in October 2021, Choi was appointed its inaugural director in February 2022. She has over a decade of experience with the DOJ.
DeFi & Bridge Chain Exploitations
Choi also clarified that her focus is on hackers and exploiters who take advantage of Defi protocols and bridge chains – an area where there is significant danger from state-sponsored actors perpetrating these crimes for financial gain and other malicious purposes using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC).
NCET Formed In 2021
NCET was formed by DOJ in October 2021 with the aim of protecting Americans from fraudsters who use digital currencies for illegal activities like money laundering and terrorist financing. This enforcement team has taken many initiatives since then like targeting rogue exchanges as well as investing scam perpetrators who use pig butchering techniques for fleecing unsuspecting victims out of their hard-earned money without any traceability or accountability whatsoever