Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and police have been given greater powers to confiscate, freeze and destroy cryptocurrencies used by criminals.
According to a press release from the UK government, the new powers, which come into effect today, mean police will no longer need to make arrests before seizing cryptocurrency from suspects. Police may also confiscate items such as written passwords or memory sticks that “could be used to provide information helpful to the investigation.”
Police will be able to transfer illicit cryptocurrencies to wallets controlled by law enforcement, and will also be authorized to destroy crypto assets “if necessary.” Victims of crime can also apply to have their money returned to a cryptocurrency account.
“Criminals should never be able to profit from breaking the law,” British Home Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement. “This makes it much easier for law enforcement to identify new and evolving threats.” “We are making it possible,” he said. It cleverly pointed to the cryptocurrency financing of “terrorist organizations like Daesh” to justify new police powers.
The announcement also highlighted the use of cryptocurrencies and NFT By drug dealers and con artists.
Adrian Searle, director of the UK’s National Economic Crime Center, said: “Criminals hide and move the proceeds of crime at scale and speed, pay for other criminal services and defraud victims. “We are increasingly using crypto assets as a means,” he said. “These new powers are very welcome and will enhance law enforcement’s ability to deter, recover and destroy cryptocurrency assets where necessary.”
Privacy coin “does not serve the public interest”
A UK press release pointed out that privacy coins “do not serve the public interest.” Most cryptocurrencies include: Bitcoin and Ethereum It uses a public ledger and provides pseudo-anonymity to users. Wallet addresses are anonymous, but once linked to an individual’s identity (e.g. through know-your-customer procedures), all transactions made from that wallet can be identified and tracked.
In contrast, privacy coins like Monero and Zcash use a variety of techniques to protect potentially identifying information about transactions.
Recently, governments and law enforcement agencies not only in the UK but around the world have cracked down on cryptocurrency privacy projects. Earlier this week, US authorities arrested the founders of Bitcoin mixer Samourai Wallet on charges of money laundering conspiracy.
And just yesterday, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warned Americans not to use ‘cryptocurrency transfer services’ that are not registered as financial service providers under US law. Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws.
Michael Balcina, a digital assets partner at law firm Piper Adelman, suggested the FBI’s warning was an attempt to “warn consumers away from smart contract-based privacy tools” like Samourai Wallet and Tornado Cash, while Bankless co-founder Ryan Adams said: pointed “We are now arresting privacy developers and calling them msbs.”
Edited by Stacey Elliott.
