According to Europol, the increased use of cryptocurrency also leads to an increase in abuse, but it noted that blockchain technologies offer authorities a new way of tackling criminal activities.
The law enforcement agency of Europe also stated that the technology could be helpful in investigating traditional money laundering networks.
Rising crimes
The agency of the European Union for Law Enforcement Cooperation known as Europol recently had a gathering with regulatory authorities, financial investigators, crypto experts, and business representatives.
It concluded that since the use of crypto has spread across industries and borders, it has resulted in new types of crime, abuse, and money laundering as well.
The agency recently held a two-day event at its headquarters in the Netherlands, which was the 6th Global Conference focused on criminal finances as well as cryptocurrencies.
The Basel Institute on Governance also supported the event and it was aimed at improving collaboration between the different parties that participate in probing and prosecuting crimes related to cryptocurrencies.
It was noted by speakers that when it comes to using the right tools for fighting crimes, blockchain technologies can prove to be immensely useful.
Blockchain
According to Europol, these technologies can be immensely useful in investigating money laundering networks as well as organized crime in order to recover funds that are stolen.
It also stated that it was crucial to have a better understanding of the crypto market in order to tackle the criminal activities that happen within it.
It asserted that regulatory authorities, law enforcement bodies as well as the private sector were making efforts to deal with those using crypto assets for illicit purposes.
The agency also referred to the new legislation introduced in the EU for ensuring that digital currencies, such as bitcoin, are treated in the same way as other assets for preventing money laundering.
The advantages
The law enforcement agency further stated that blockchain technology was coming in handy for investigators when it comes to tracking money movements.
Europol stated that not only was this useful in identifying scammers and hackers, but also for exposing the traditional money laundering operations and other crime groups.
The agency stated that private companies are working on the tools that can be used for tracing funds that are laundered over different blockchains through the use of various obfuscation techniques.
The conference
This latest conference had 1,700 participants belonging to about 119 countries. The speakers at the event represented law enforcement officials from European countries and others like South Korea and the US.
They also represented asset recovery and blockchain forensic companies like Chainalysis, crypto service providers such as Binance, and EU institutions like the European Parliament.
The event comes after there have been some major developments for regulating the crypto space in Europe.
A regulatory package by the name of Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) had been agreed upon this summer by key institutions in the European Union and its member states.
This involves adopting anti-money laundering policies that would govern crypto operations.
