A coalition of U.S. senators is asking the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to reverse course on its recent decision to disband the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET).
In an April 10 letter to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; and Dick Durbin (D-IL) Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the decision would effectively terminate the DOJ’s investigation and prosecution of cryptocurrency crime.
“These are grave mistakes that will support sanctions evasion, drug trafficking, scams, and child sexual exploitation,” the law makers said.
Specifically, the DOJ memo of April 7 said the DOJ would no longer be enforcing some federal laws against entities that handle digital assets, including “mixing and tumbling services.” Mixers are services used to launder stolen cryptocurrency and used by criminals in the drug trade and child pornography trade. Mixers are also used by North Korea to evade sanctions and fund weapons of mass destruction, the senators said.
“It makes no sense for DOJ to announce a hands-off approach to tools that are being used to support such terrible crimes,” the lawmakers wrote. “Drug traffickers, terrorists, fraudsters, and adversaries will exploit this vulnerability on a large scale. Further increasing the risks posed by bad actors is your decision to disband NCET, which has coordinated a Department-wide effort to prosecute illicit activity involving cryptocurrency.”
The letter was also signed by U.S. Sens. Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).