Its June study on international law enforcement cooperation is supplemented by a new paper titled "The Role of Law Enforcement in Detecting, Investigating, and Prosecuting Criminal Activity Related to Digital Assets."
The new paper defines the illicit use of digital assets, paying particular attention to nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralized finance (DeFi) before analyzing the initiatives taken by several government ministries and agencies to combat Digital Asset Crime. It suggests a range of actions to improve law enforcement activities.
The top recommendations in the report are to enlarge the definition of "financial institution" in the relevant statutes, extend the statute of limitations for some offenses, and change the criminal code as it relates to unlicensed money transmission firms.
The study also proposes enhancing fines, amending other laws, including the Bank Secrecy Act, and making adjustments to the preservation and provision of evidence. Additionally, it suggests "adequate funding" for its initiatives, which might take the form of hiring policy adjustments and employment incentives.
The National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, established in February after being mentioned last year, is in charge of the DAC, which has already begun operations. On September 8, the network conducted its inaugural meeting.
Over 150 federal authorities from U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the DOJ's litigating departments serve as the coordinators. It was anticipated that this would act as "the department's primary forum" for instruction and advice on identifying and prosecuting offenses involving digital assets. Members of the DAC serve as the office's digital asset subject matter experts.