Digital currency brings money laundering into high-tech territory
The recent bust of Liberty Reserve, a $6 billion Costa Rica-based money laundering operation, by the United States government represents a sea change in the fight against money laundering. This fight has become even more complicated in recent years due to the rising use of digital currency to clean money obtained through illegal activities.
A new white paper by the Fraud Prevention and Investigation unit of Thomson Reuters, Technology in the Fight Against Money Laundering in the New Digital Currency Age, offers insights on how criminal and terrorist organizations have turned to digital currency to reap profits from drug trafficking, prostitution and more, and the challenge of detecting, investigating and apprehending these criminals.
The white paper, which includes perspectives from an executive-level compliance officer at a regional bank, an enforcement analyst from the National White Collar Crime Center and a strategic analyst from Thomson Reuters, is available to download at no charge on the CLEAR website.
Jason Thomas, senior strategic analyst with Thomson Reuters, who participated in the company’s “The Virtual Economy: Potential, Perplexities and Promises” conference in Washington D.C. on June 13, spoke with Legal Current on digital currency and the fight against money laundering.
Contributors to the white paper also will participate in a roundtable discussion of these topics during the 24th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference, hosted by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, June 23-28 in Las Vegas.
For more information about CLEAR, visit http://clear.thomsonreuters.com. To read the full press release, visit thomsonreuters.com.
