UN official says cryptocurrencies make it harder to combat child slavery, terror financing and money laundering

Cryptocurrencies are making it more difficult for law enforcement to prosecute criminals guilty of cyber crime, terror financing, money laundering and abuse of children, according to a United Nations official.

Neil Walsh, chief of the Cybercrime and Anti-Money-Laundering section of the United Nations’s Office on Drugs and Crime, recently spoke with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. He stated that the anonymity provided by many cryptocurrencies made it even more difficult to bring  in criminals before justice.

Walsh said, “It’s what makes it really hard for cops and investigators to manage some really big risks because in the past when we looked at some of those really big threat areas, like kids getting abused online, it had to be paid for and now with the use of cryptocurrencies it is exceptionally difficult for investigator to track that and try to manage that risk.”

He added that the UN had brought in policy makers and experts to try to find out what the best way to regulate the crypto space could be.

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