The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has formed a new division focused on on-chain activity analysis in decentralized networks. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said this at the virtual Munich Cyber Security Conference.
The unit will include investigators with experience investigating incidents involving digital assets, and expertise in on-chain analysis.
The division will be part of the structure announced last autumn to tackle cryptocurrency crimes (National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, NCET). The latter is part of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Today the Department of Justice announced the appointment of the first director of NCET — the former Assistant United States Attorney for Manhattan, Ын Ен Чой. She led the case against the Russian Andrey Tyurin, who, in January 2021, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for hacking and fraud.
NCET will also include personnel from the Cybercrime Division, the Money Laundering Division, the Criminal Division, the National Security Division, and other agencies.
“NCET will expand the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division’s ongoing efforts to provide support and training to federal, state, local and international law enforcement agencies, with a view to strengthening the capacity to aggressively investigate and prosecute crimes related to cryptocurrency and digital assets,” the press release says.
Earlier in February 2022, U.S. authorities said they had detained individuals involved in the Bitfinex hack in 2016, as well as seizing $3.6 billion in Bitcoin.
The defendants are Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan. Law enforcement were able to identify them thanks to the takedown of the AlphaBay darknet marketplace.
Follow ForkLog’s Bitcoin news on our Telegram — cryptocurrency news, prices and analytics.