US, UK, Canada, Australia, and Netherlands have uncovered over 50 Crypto Criminal Leads

Officials from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and the Netherlands have shared information and uncovered over 50 crypto-related criminal leads, including one that could be a $1 billion Ponzi scam.

Niels Obbink, the chief and general director of the Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD), told reporters:

“NFTs are one of the newest digital techniques to launder money through trade.”

Cryptocurrency, according to Obbink, has “less control, less supervision, and limited regulation, making it open to fraud.” “It must have our attention,” he said.

Meet with J5 countries

The heads of tax enforcement from the J5 countries met in London this week to discuss intelligence and data in an attempt to identify sources of illegal cross-border crypto activity, according to reports.

The J5 was formed in response to the OECD’s call for countries to do more to tackle tax fraud facilitators.

It includes the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), the Fiscale Inlichtings- en Opsporingsdienst (FIOD), HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRSCI) (IRS-CI).

According to the magazine, the officials discovered more than 50 crypto-related criminal leads during the meeting.

$1 billion Ponzi scheme lead

Jim Lee, the chief of criminal investigations for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), told reporters on Friday:

Some of these leads… concern individuals with large NFT transactions involving potential tax or other financial crimes in our jurisdictions.

One lead “appears to be a $1 billion Ponzi scheme,” he said, adding that it “touches every single J5 country.”

Furthermore, officials have identified leads concerning decentralized exchanges and financial technology companies, according to Lee, who added that “major targets” could be announced as soon as this month.

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Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while his post-graduation. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing along with being a developer. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing