600 crypto-related crimes reported in Ukraine this year, police say

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Source: Michael/Adobe

Ukrainian police say they have investigated 600 alleged crimes involving crypto since the start of the year.

Forklog reported that the claim was made by Evgeny Panchenko, the head of the police cyber division’s analysis team.

Panchenko claimed most of the cases involved “cybercriminals” who used coins to “launder criminal proceeds and trade illegal goods on the dark web.”

He stated:

“Cryptocurrencies offer many opportunities for the development of the economy. However, criminals also use these tools successfully.

Ukrainian cyberpolice sent delegates to a recent summit organized by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Economic and Environmental Activities in Europe. The summit was created in partnership with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

At the meeting, international governments – including that of Ukraine – agreed on a measure proposing more crypto-related powers for law enforcement.

The new measure will allow police in several countries to have access to the “necessary tools” for “financial control” and “investigation of offenses related to [cryptoassets].”

Is cryptocurrency on the rise in Ukraine?

Earlier this month, a court in Ukraine fined the owner of a tailor shop that served as a front for a crypto-mining “farm”. The operators were found guilty of stealing electricity from the local grid to power their rigs. Some 51 people appear to have been accomplices to the crime.

The country has also been pushing for progressive, business-friendly crypto regulation. The government has also used crypto donations to help fund its ongoing military struggle with Russia.

But police have long warned that crypto and crime go hand in hand in modern Ukraine. Last year, the cyberpolice chief called on Kyiv to “legalize” and “transfer cryptocurrency to the legal sector.”

He said this would allow the police to “monitor illegal transactions with cryptocurrency more effectively” – and claimed that “all black market players” are now using crypto as a payment tool.

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