This was published 4 years ago
Halting illegal cryptocurrency use the focus of major crime conference
By Stuart Layt
Staying one step ahead of organised crime, which is increasingly shifting to cryptocurrency, is one of the major focuses of an international policing conference being held in Brisbane this week.
More than 200 law enforcement delegates from around the world have convened for the National Proceeds of Crime Conference, last held 10 years ago in 2009.
Australian Federal Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Justine Gough said the policing landscape has changed dramatically in the last decade, and agencies from around the world were comparing notes on how best to match the efforts of tech-savvy criminals.
Cryptocurrencies are increasingly the focus of law enforcement around the world.Credit: Bloomberg
"Since 2009 certainly a lot has changed in terms of technological advances, the use of social media, the dark web, cryptocurrency, all those sorts of things," Ms Gough said.
"They all present challenges to law enforcement in terms of identifying and tracing criminal assets."
She said cryptocurrency in particular had "changed the landscape" of criminal enterprise, because it had made it easier to transfer large sums of money between jurisdictions.
Cryptocurrencies are not controlled by governments but are instead freely traded using blockchain technology, which keeps a record of their movement and prevents digital counterfeiting.
Ms Gough said by sharing their experiences with dealing with cryptocurrencies, law enforcement agencies would hopefully come away from the conference with a better idea of how to effectively stop their use by criminals.
"It enables us to talk about the cases we encounter, the difficulties that we’ve faced, the technology that’s being utilised by criminals, to share those skills and leverage expertise," she said.
"Disrupting organised crime syndicates and networks through the seizure of money is an incredibly effective way of taking away the criminal wealth that is derived."
Over the last 10 years the the joint Criminal Asset Confiscation Taskforce has seized $435 million in criminal proceeds, some of which was in the form of various cryptocurrencies.
Earlier this year, AFP officers shut down two digital currency exchange businesses run by a Melbourne man who was allegedly using cryptocurrency to import drugs into the country.
Funds seized by the Taskforce are used for a range of purposes, including funding the ongoing wastewater monitoring program, which accurately measures the overall rate of drug use in the community by testing sewage.
Ms Gough said they hoped not to wait 10 years between conferences next time, with the rate of progression in criminal technology getting faster all the time.
"Technology is rapidly evolving and it does require the constant attention of law enforcement efforts both in Australia and globally, to work together to ensure the technology utilised by criminals can be matched by law enforcement," she said.
"That’s what this conference is about – learning about the technologies that exist, learning about ways law enforcement has been effective in dealing with such technologies."