The U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) said it has seen a rise in the number of Bitcoin transactions used in connection with human trafficking and online child exploitation cases.
Of the 2,311 Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) reports received, 2,157 reports referenced Bitcoin as the primary convertible virtual currency used for human trafficking and online child exploitation cases. From this FinCEN said it then identified over 1,800 unique wallet addresses related to suspected online child exploitation cases and human trafficking offences.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of the Treasury released its 2024 National Risk Assessments on Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Proliferation Financing, outlining the most significant threats facing the United States in illicit finance.
The Treasury Department issued a stark warning regarding the escalating utilization of cryptocurrencies by criminals, fraudsters, and other illicit entities. The report detailed updates to the anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism framework, addressing issues such as the fentanyl crisis, terrorist attacks, ransomware potency, professional money laundering, and digital payments’ growth.
FinCEN is appealing to the public to report any cases of child exploitation and human trafficking to law enforcement. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) tip-off line is: 1-866-DHS-2-ICE (1-866-347-2423) and outside the US authorities can be contacted by calling 802-872-6199.
