US Department of Justice calls for more international cooperation, coordination on crypto law enforcement

A new report from the Department of Justice proposes more international cooperation among law enforcement agencies on the crypto and blockchain front.

Information sharing and the harmonization of anti-money laundering and know-your-customer rules were also proposed in the DOJ report, which was developed in conjunction with other US agencies in the wake of the Biden White House's executive order on crypto. That EO was released in March.

The report itself was drafted in response to that executive order. In the introduction, US Attorney General Merrick Garland wrote that "the growing use of digital assets in the global financial system has profound implications for investors, consumers, and businesses and increases the risk of crimes such as money laundering, ransomware, terrorist financing, fraud and theft, and sanctions evasion."

Garland went on to write:

"Strong international law enforcement cooperation will be essential to best position the United States and its partners to detect, investigate, prosecute, and otherwise disrupt criminal activity related to digital assets, and to overcome the unique obstacles posed by the features of these technologies to law enforcement efforts to combat their misuse."

Specifically, as Garland noted, the department proposes "expanding our operational and capacity building efforts with international partners; increasing information sharing, coordination, and deconfliction; and closing regulatory gaps across jurisdictions."

Read the full 58-page report here.