“The question that one may need to ask therefore is, why any entity would disguise its transactions if they were legal," asked Central Bank of Nigeria acting director of corporate communications Osita Nwanisobi. "It is on the basis of this opacity that cryptocurrencies have become well-suited for conducting many illegal activities including money laundering, terrorism financing, purchase of small arms and light weapons, and tax evasion.”
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CipherTrace CEO Dave Jevans sees crypto crime decreasing, but business is still booming (Photo: CipherTrace)Crypto crime near $2B in 2020, but still down 57% from 2019
Blockchain analytics firm CipherTrace’s annual report said DeFi became ‘the next major threat vector for fraud and money laundering.’
One reason for that decline is that while the number of incidents of thefts, hacks, and fraud remained largely the same, the take by criminals in 2019 was 160% higher than in 2020. This indicates growing “maturity in the crypto space as entities continue to harden systems and take precautions against inside and outside threats,” the report said.
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Human trafficker caught after using Bitcoin to launder blood money
Another criminal has been arrested after the authorities followed the data trail left behind by the Bitcoin he is suspected of using to launder money
Ignacio Santoyo—an alleged Mexican human trafficker said to have blackmailed and sexually exploited 2,000 women—was captured after authorities tracked the Bitcoin (BTC) that he used to launder his ill-gotten gains.
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Sheep farmer Nigel Wright demanded bitcoin after putting metal in baby food (Photo: Tesco/Hertfordshire Police Department)U.K. Bitcoin extortionist jailed for 14 years
Sheep farmer contaminated baby food with metal and demanded a $1.8M in bitcoin from U.K. retailer
A plot to extort money from supermarket chain Tesco by contaminating baby food with broken-up blades of a craft knife and iron filings was fueled by bitcoin and ended with a 14-year jail term.
