Crimes targeting the virtual currency sector decreased by more than half in 2020 according to blockchain security firm CipherTrace. The firm’s 2020 cryptocurrency crime and anti-money laundering report revealed that losses from cryptocurrency theft, hacks, and fraud fell 57% in 2020 to $1.9 billion, due mainly to improved security systems. The same figure in 2019 hit a record $4.5 billion. CipherTrace said that “massive exit scams” such as the PlusToken Ponzi dominated crypto crime over the past two years, with that scam alone netting $2.9 billion. In 2020, a similar scheme by some of the same culprits called WoToken defrauded …

The connections between trading app Robinhood, Citadel hedge fund, Melvin Capital, and GameStop are becoming clearer as the Internet burns with outrage over allegations of market manipulation. Melvin Capital was one of the biggest players short-selling GameStop stock, or GME. When a number of Redditors — and gamers — on the r/Wallstreetbets subreddit pushed back against institutions trying to financially destroy the popular brick and mortar video game store, the price of GameStop shares shot up. This effectively turned the tables on Melvin and left the firm vulnerable, with its investors likely to lose billions. However, Citadel and Point72 Asset …

Digital asset custodian Komainu is working with authorities in the United Kingdom to store crypto confiscated as part of criminal investigations. Komainu is a custody venture from Japan-based global investment bank Nomura, digital asset manager CoinShares, and hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger. The firm announced it has made an agreement to “securely store digital assets seized during the investigatory process” for police forces in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland following a commercial tender with the Derbyshire Constabulary in the East Midlands region. The announcement stated that it has the support of Coinshares as well as Gentium, a consultancy service for …

Authorities in Japan are reportedly targeting individuals for their alleged involvement in the January 2018 hack of the Coincheck crypto exchange. According to a Jan. 22 report from Japanese news outlet Nikkei Asia, police have arrested or referred roughly 30 people in Japan to the local prosecutors’ office for their alleged role in hacking one of the country’s cryptocurrency exchanges. In January 2018, hackers stole roughly $534 million worth of NEM (XEM) from Coincheck in what was — and still is — the largest hack of a crypto exchange. Nikkei Asia claims that according to an unnamed source, investigators "traced …

Robbers posing as cryptocurrency buyers have stolen about 3.5 million Hong Kong dollars ($450,000) from a woman in Hong Kong. According to a report by the South China Morning Post on Tuesday, the Hong Kong police are currently conducting a manhunt for the gang. A spokesperson for the police revealed that the group operated by having one member complete multiple transactions with the victim, presumably to win the target’s trust. Indeed, an investigation into the matter showed three previous deals ranging between $77,000 and $90,000. On the day of the robbery, the other members of the gang rushed to the …

Less than a month after a Cape Town High Court granted a provisional order of liquidation against Mirror Trading International, the liquidators are seeking expanded powers to investigate the company and recover investor funds. According to Herman Bester, one of the four appointed liquidators, the team needs to operate across multiple jurisdictions to ascertain the full scope of MTI’s operation. The liquidators are currently attempting to trace all the company’s assets. After this process, the team will submit a formal report to the court indicating the likelihood of successfully returning investor funds to the victims of the alleged scam. According …

Over the past year, many prominent and colorful crypto personalities have been apprehended and arrested. From the jailing of antivirus pioneer John McAfee to the laying of charges against executives from one of the world’s largest exchanges, 2020 didn’t exactly shake off crypto’s reputation as a honeypot for criminals. Over the first 10 months of 2020, blockchain forensics company CipherTrace estimates that losses from thefts, hacks and frauds totaled a whopping $1.8 billion, a figure fueled in part by the rise of various DeFi platforms. The report suggests that 2020 is on track to record the second-highest value in losses …

The problem of spreading cybercrime is becoming more acute today, and developed countries with high gross domestic product rates suffer from it to a much greater extent than developing countries. This is due to the fact that the more advanced technologies are used by society, the stronger its dependence is on digital structures. And this, in turn, creates more opportunities for cybercriminals. In 2021, the damage from cybercrime is predicted to be $6 trillion — twice as much as in 2015. Meanwhile, the terms cybercrime and cyberterrorism differ in various legal systems. Some criminologists divide these concepts; others consider them …

The United States Department of the Treasury is looking for expert advice on cryptocurrencies to tackle legal challenges associated with the industry. The U.S. Treasury’s bureau, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, has posted two job applications for crypto policy officers. The agency is seeking professional expertise on crimes related to digital assets. Posted on Dec. 12, the two full-time and permanent positions target experts specializing in crypto-related finance threats and risk in order to “assist in the development of policy responses to these challenges.” FinCEN expects that new policy officers will provide insights on a wide array of areas …

A lawyer representing users in one of four class-action lawsuits against Spain-based crypto trading bot developer Arbistar is calling for authorities to take “forceful” action against its CEO. According to a report from Spanish news outlet elDiario.es, lawyer Carlos Aránguez said that the response from authorities in regards to Arbistar CEO Santi Fuentes, who allegedly scammed users out of millions, does not match the severity of his crime. Fuentes has been out on probation since his arrest in October for his role in the alleged billion-dollar crypto Ponzi scheme Arbistar ran this year. He was charged with fraud and money …

Per a Dec. 11 announcement from the Department of Justice, Assistant Attorney General Beth Williams is out of the policy department Since 2017, Williams has been a leader at the Office of Legal Policy. Though the DoJ's announcement today explicitly says Williams is leaving the office rather than the department as a whole, it does not say where she is bound for next. As the announcement notes, Williams has been particularly involved in: "The department’s cyber policies, including coordinating the development of a recent white paper on cryptocurrency as part of the Cyber-Digital Task Force." This is in reference to …

Mexican authorities report an increase in the use of crypto assets to launder funds by criminal syndicates in Latin America. In a Dec. 8 report from Reuters, the head of Mexico’s finance ministry’s financial intelligence unit, Santiago Nieto, described how cartels use crypto to launder money obtained in illicit activities. Neito asserts Latin cartels will typically deposit their ill-gotten gains into various bank accounts as sums of less than $7,500 — the threshold that would prompt banks to flag a transaction. The funds are then used to make a myriad of small quantities of Bitcoin (BTC), which can then be …