DOJ Launches ‘Cryptocurrency Enforcement’ Unit

A former New York prosecutor who was involved in cracking the cybersabotage of JP Morgan and other leading companies has been appointed director of the nation’s first “Cryptocurrency Enforcement” agency.

Eun Young Choi,  currently Senior Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, will  lead the  stepped-up fight against white-collar criminals who exploit  “digital assets and distributed ledger technologies, ” announced Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division  in a statement  Thursday.

The announcement was part of a series of developments in response to the dramatic increase in cyberthreats over the past two years aimed at strengthening the way the government confronts cybercriminals, , according to Monaco, the No. 2 official at the Department of Justice.

The department recently made its largest financial seizure ever, confiscating over $3.6 billion worth of Bitcoin stolen in a 2016 hacking. A newly formed Virtual Asset Exploitation Unit at the FBI is meant to provide further expertise, equipment and training to help agents trace the flow of funds on the blockchain, the digital ledger that permanently stores records of cryptocurrency trades, reports the New York Times.

The FBI is currently investigating more than 100 ransomware variants, and dozens of ransomware groups estimated to have demanded billions of dollars in payment.

The National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) “will serve as the focal point for the department’s efforts to tackle the growth of crime involving these technologies,” Polite said.

As an Assistant US Attorney in New York City, Choi served as lead prosecutor in a variety of cases, including the investigation of a transnational organization responsible for the hacking of J.P. Morgan Chase and a dozen other financial companies; the operation of Coin.mx, an unlicensed virtual currency exchange; and the only U.S. prosecution brought in connection with the “Panama Papers.

“The department (of Justice)  has been at the forefront of investigating and prosecuting crimes involving digital currencies since their inception,” said Choi.

“The NCET will play a pivotal role in ensuring that as the technology surrounding digital assets grows and evolves, the department in turn accelerates and expands its efforts to combat their illicit abuse by criminals of all kinds.”

Cryptocurrency has been used not only to fuel cyberattacks and ransomware, but in narcotics trafficking and money laundering, the DOJ said.

The full statement is accessible here.