Blockchain & Cryptocurrency , Cryptocurrency Fraud , Fraud Management & Cybercrime
UK Urged to Beef Up Seizures of Criminal Crypto
More Aggressive Seizures Will Combat Ransomware, Parliament Committee HearsThe United Kingdom should augment its cryptocurrency asset seizure abilities as part of an effort to combat ransomware and other cybercrime, a parliamentary panel heard.
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Lagging seizure abilities is a roadblock to identifying and disrupting activities of ransomware hackers who launder extortion payments through cryptocurrencies, Aidan Larkin, CEO of Asset Reality, a London-based asset recovery firm
The committee in October opened an inquiry into ransomware (see: UK Companies Fear Reporting Cyber Incidents, Parliament Told).
British law enforcement, such as Metropolitan Police and the National Crime Agency, have seized cryptocurrency during criminal investigations, but the rate of seizures is not commensurate with the level of crypto adoption in the country, Larkin said at the hearing.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in April 2022 - when he was serving as chancellor - vowed to turn the U.K. into "a global hub for crypto asset technology." Blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis
John Carlin, a former acting U.S. deputy attorney general, attributed the U.S. government's successful seizure of cryptocurrency paid by