FEDERALhearing transcript

Hearing on Illicit Use of Virtual Currency and Law Enforcement Response

Original title: ILLICIT USE OF VIRTUAL CURRENCY AND THE LAW ENFORCEMENT RESPONSE

January 1, 2019

cryptocurrency law enforcement financial crime terrorism financing dark web financial technology

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The Frame

What this does

The hearing establishes the federal government's oversight approach to regulation and law enforcement's investigative priorities regarding digital assets and financial crime.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Law Enforcement Agencies

These agencies are tasked with developing and implementing strategies to track and disrupt illicit financial activity involving virtual currencies.

Virtual Currency Users

Regulatory and enforcement actions discussed in this hearing may influence the operational environment for digital asset transactions.

What changed

Last recorded activity January 1, 2019.

What's next

Next step not available in the current record.

Summary

This document is a transcript of a 2018 House subcommittee hearing examining how criminals use virtual currencies to fund illegal activities. Law enforcement officials from Homeland Security, the Secret Service, and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network () discussed strategies for identifying and disrupting these illicit financial transactions.

Key Facts

The hearing took place on June 20, 2018, in the Rayburn House Office Building.
The subcommittee examined the use of virtual currencies in both mainstream and dark web marketplaces.
Witnesses included representatives from Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Secret Service, and FinCEN.
The hearing focused on the ability of virtual currencies to facilitate global, low-cost, and anonymous financial transactions for illicit purposes.
The subcommittee authorized the inclusion of extraneous materials in the record within 5 legislative days.
Written testimony was provided by Gregory Nevano, Robert Novy, and Thomas Ott.
Steven D'Antuono submitted a written statement for the record.
Thomas Ott provided written responses to follow-up questions from Representative Sinema.

Why It Matters

The hearing establishes the federal government's oversight approach to regulation and law enforcement's investigative priorities regarding digital assets and financial crime.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the purpose of this hearing?

To examine how virtual currencies are exploited for illicit activities and how law enforcement agencies are responding to these threats.

Who testified at the hearing?

Officials from Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network ().

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

Early Federal Focus on Crypto-Crime

The hearing highlights that by mid-2018, federal law enforcement had already formalized inter-agency coordination to address virtual currency exploitation.

Homeland Security Investigations United States Secret Service Financial Crimes Enforcement Network

Connected Entities

personGregory Nevano“Deputy Assistant Director, Homeland Security Investigations”Map →

personThomas Ott“Associate Director, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)”Map →

personRobert Novy“Deputy Assistant Director, United States Secret Service”Map →

organizationSubcommittee on Terrorism and Illicit Finance“Congressional body conducting the hearing”Map →

personStevan Pearce“Chairman of the Subcommittee on Terrorism and Illicit Finance”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.govinfo.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance65
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy20
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment10
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz15
Current news / social attention level

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