Cryptos are increasingly being misused for criminal purposes
Published: Wednesday, Feb 28th 2024, 11:10
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Cryptocurrencies are being misused for illegal purposes. These range from theft and fraud to transnational crime such as money laundering and terrorist financing, as reported by the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol) on Wednesday.
The risks for the criminal misuse of crypto technology have increased significantly with its integration into conventional payment platforms, as Fedpol wrote with reference to a report by the Coordination Group on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (CGMF).
In Switzerland, more and more financial intermediaries are offering services with virtual assets. According to Fedpol, the boundaries between the traditional financial sector and cryptocurrencies are becoming blurred as these virtual assets are increasingly being integrated into traditional payment platforms. Financial intermediaries in Switzerland have detected an increasing number of suspected money laundering and terrorist financing operations in this regard in recent years.
This has led to a sharp increase in suspicious activity reports relating to virtual assets to the Money Laundering Reporting Office at Fedpol (MROS). In 2022, almost 14% of all suspicious activity reports were related to virtual assets. According to Fedpol, the losses caused by the misuse of virtual assets have risen sharply in Switzerland and amounted to at least a double-digit million amount in 2022.
The CGMT report also proposes measures to mitigate the risks. Among other things, the level of data and knowledge as well as the reporting behavior of financial intermediaries in the virtual assets sector should be improved and proactively promoted. Switzerland should also strengthen international cooperation.
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