To strengthen counter-terrorism measures, US Treasury asks Congress to expand investigation authority into virtual currency industry

Request for additional authority in virtual currency usage investigation

The US government is strengthening measures against crypto-asset (virtual currency) related businesses. The US Treasury Department has given Congress new powers to step up investigations into the use of cryptocurrencies and fintech platforms by extremist groups such as Hamas, political media outlet Politico reported on the 28th. requested.

In a letter to U.S. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown and Representative Maxine Waters, U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo warns that terrorists and transnational criminals are turning to digital assets to raise funds. He emphasized that it is necessary to establish a sanction system to prevent this.

The letter and accompanying legislation are part of a push to extend anti-money laundering regulations that apply to banks, asset managers and other traditional financial institutions to digital asset companies.

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US government strengthens sanctions

The US government has imposed at least three sanctions on Hamas after the Palestinian militant group attacked Israel on October 7th. It targets aid routes from Iran, and includes the operator of a virtual currency exchange based in the Gaza Strip.

Following this move, Adeyemo said on November 9 that the United States and its allies plan to impose further sanctions in the coming weeks. This includes crackdowns on the use of virtual currency assets.

While Adeyemo said that much of Hamas’s funding source is not currently cryptocurrencies, he said that unless the crypto industry steps up and takes its responsibility against money laundering seriously, Hamas and other organizations will continue to use cryptocurrencies. warned that the use of

Additionally, the Treasury Department’s top sanctions official, Brian Nelson, held a meeting with crypto companies and payment processors on the same day to discuss countermeasures against Hamas’ financing methods. It pledged to actively collaborate with money service providers, payment processors, and blockchain analytics companies to collect information on armed groups’ financing and transportation methods, and to investigate, identify, and disrupt Hamas-related activities.

In October, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) designated virtual currency “mixing” transactions as a major money laundering concern under Section 311 of the Anti-Terrorism USA Patriot Act, requiring financial institutions to He proposed regulations that would require monitoring and reporting.

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