The National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has joined forces with the United States Embassy to explore the country’s cryptocurrency sector in a bid to expose money launderers. The NABU has declared that its efforts will be supported financially by the US State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.
NABU’s Cryptocurrency Investigation
Over 250 detectives and analysts have commenced a study of cryptoassets as part of the NABU’s investigation into “the tools of ‘modern’ corruption”. The bureau has identified that the “top” corruption offenders in the nation “try to accumulate, use, and hide a significant part” of their illicit funds “in cryptocurrency.”
The NABU has launched a nine-month training program that will cover “cryptocurrency technologies” and “methods of investigating crimes using cryptoassets.” The initiative is the largest training course in the history of the bureau and will include sessions by global “experts” and “specialists” in crypto, including representatives of the crypto community and the developers of analytical tools. The program will conclude in January 2024.
Cooperation and Interaction with Key Ukrainian and Global Crypto Exchanges
The NABU has pledged to “establish channels of cooperation and interaction with key Ukrainian and global crypto exchanges, as well as […] international law enforcement organizations.” This drive will ensure that cryptocurrency will no longer be a “panacea” for corrupt individuals who want to hide their crimes.
US Assistance to Ukraine
Earlier this month, the United States announced that it is providing solutions from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis to assist Ukraine in tracking Russian sanctions evaders. The Ukrainian government is set to roll out new EU-inspired crypto regulations before the year-end, aiming to model its new laws on the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations.
The NABU is actively investigating the use of cryptocurrency in money laundering in Ukraine, and the US government is providing financial and technical support to this initiative. The bureau is taking measures to put an end to cryptocurrency being used as a tool for corrupt individuals to conceal their crimes. The training program launched by the NABU is the largest in the organization’s history, with sessions conducted by global experts and specialists in crypto. The Ukrainian government is striving to model its new crypto regulations on the EU’s MiCA regulations.
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