US Treasury Department Will Act As Criminals Entering Crypto Asset Room

The US government will crack down on criminals who use crypto assets. (Photo; Doc. Yellowblock)

JAKARTA - Deputy Secretary of the US Treasury, Wally Adeyemo, revealed that the Treasury Department has asked Congress to provide more tools and authorities "to crack down on illegal perpetrators in the digital asset space." In addition, he stressed the importance of renewing financial policies related to illegal activities.

Wally Adeyemo, detailed the Treasury's key priorities in dealing with illegal perpetrators in the cryptocurrency space at the Blockchain Association's Policy Summit this year on Wednesday 29 November.

"We invite Congress to create a secondary sanctions regime that not only breaks the relationship between a company from the US financial system but will also expose any company that continues to do business with sanctioned entities to decide its relationship from the US financial system," Adeyemo said.

"We have to make every effort to ensure that groups like Hamas cannot find a safe place in the digital asset ecosystem," added the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury.

Yesterday, the Treasury gave Congress a reasonable set of recommendations to expand our authority and expand our tools and resources to crack down on illegal actors in the digital asset space.

He noted that this week, the Treasury imposed sanctions on paling.io (Sinbad), a crypto owner's identity mixer that "functions as a key money laundering tool for North Korea-sponsored cyber hacking groups," stating thatiri processes millions of cryptocurrencies "from cyber hacking and allows cybercriminals to hide illegal transactions."

Adeyemo warned that illegal actors often take advantage of new technologies and emphasized the risks of wanting to move to a place where regulations and law enforcement are not running properly. Furthermore, the US Treasury Department official also outlined the priority of his institution to take action against perpetrators of illegal activities in the digital asset space.

First, we accelerate the preparation of new sanctions devices aimed at actors in the digital asset ecosystem that allows terrorist groups and other illegal actors to move their assets.

Second, he stated: "We need to renew our illegal financial authority to match the challenges we face today, including those posed by the growing digital asset ecosystem."

He continued: "A digital asset ecosystem that does not have a shared commitment to preventing [activities] of illegal finance provides many opportunities for groups like North Korea and Hamas to move resources in a manner intended to thwart our efforts to stop them."

He added that to overcome this challenge, a joint commitment is needed between the government and industry players. Underlining the importance of the crypto industry proactively taking steps to prevent cryptocurrencies from being used by international crime organizations.

Adeyemo concluded that in addition to working with Congress, the Treasury Department is committed to working with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to ensure their global partners and allies join the US in updating its digital asset regulatory approach.