The US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) crypto star is clamping down on Decentralised Finance (DeFi) cybercriminals and exploiters in the midst of a four-year increase in criminal crypto activities.
New Director of the DoJ NCET
Eun Young Choi, a prosecutor with almost a decade of experience in the agency, was named director of the Justice agency’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), in February 2022 by the DoJ.
Choi indicated in a Financial Times story posted on May 15 that the agency is concentrating on thefts and breaches utilizing DeFi, and “particularly chain bridges.”
Crypto Theft a Significant Issue
Choi described it as something that is “pretty significant issue” for the DOJ, citing the rise of North Korean “state-sponsored hackers” as “key actors in this space.”
Choi, who recently appeared at the Financial Times Crypto and Digital Assets Summit, underlined the DOJ’s pursuit of crypto businesses that either perpetrate the crime or turn a blind eye in order to “obscure the trail of transactions.”
“The DOJ is targeting companies that commit crimes or allow them to happen, such as enabling money laundering,” she said.
A Four-Year Increase in Illicit Use of Crypto
Choi went on to say that the “scale and scope of digital assets being used in a variety of illicit ways” has increased dramatically in the previous four years.
In 2022, it is predicted that North Korean hackers would have stolen crypto assets worth $630 million to $1 billion. At the time, the agency stated that the NCET would act as a “focal point” for the DOJ in dealing with cryptocurrencies, cybercrime, money laundering, and forfeiture.
DoJ Taking No Rest When it Comes to Crypto Thieves
In September of last year, the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) formed a new unit of more than 150 federal prosecutors with the goal of combating illicit actions using cryptocurrencies.
Prior to this, in October 2021, the DoJ announced the formation of a new section, The National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) to battle fraudulent crypto schemes and, in particular, hackers from North Korea and Iran.
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