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According to prepared testimony for Wednesday's congressional hearing, a U.S. Treasury official will outline the agency's concerns about the illicit use of cryptocurrencies in financing, and will request more authority to track bad actors. "The Treasury Department remains deeply concerned about the use of virtual assets for all forms of illicit financial activity," said Brian Nelson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, in prepared remarks ahead of the House Financial Services Committee hearing on terrorism and illicit finance. Washington lawmakers are increasingly focusing on illicit financing through cryptocurrencies. Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren has been pushing her anti-money laundering legislation, while Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, has indicated discussions about a bill targeting money laundering using digital assets. Nelson stated in prepared testimony that the Treasury Department has been working over the past decade to develop a framework to combat terrorism financing that "mitigates illicit financial risks while fostering responsible innovation." The Treasury does have tools to address some of these issues, including the ability to hold companies accountable for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act. "However, to root out illicit financing by virtual asset markets and participants, we need additional tools and resources," Nelson said. "That's why we are eager to work with Congress to update our tools and authorities to address the evolving challenges we face today." Last year, the Treasury proposed expanding its authorities to lawmakers, including calling for the use of new sanctioning tools to combat bad actors in cryptocurrency. The Treasury also indicated that stablecoins need more oversight, although Nelson's testimony did not mention them. Nelson, who focuses on Hamas, will also tell lawmakers about the Treasury's efforts to thwart Hamas from transferring or raising funds to support terrorism and that the agency is looking for new ways the organization may use. "While we continue to assess terrorist use of digital assets remains a small part of the more mature mechanisms for moving funds, we recognize that terrorist organizations have turned to and may continue to turn to digital assets to raise, transfer, and store their illicit proceeds," Nelson said. Nelson stated that the Treasury will continue to target funds related to Hamas in the future. Nelson's comments come a week after the Treasury released its 2024 National Risk Assessment on Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Proliferation Financing, which highlighted U.S. illicit finance threats and risks, including cryptocurrency. The report noted, for example, that money laundering by drug cartels is mostly cash-based, although the agency stated that bad actors are increasingly turning to virtual assets. The House Financial Services Committee's digital assets focus group will also hold a hearing on Thursday focusing on cryptocurrencies and illicit activity. Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet providing news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is the majority investor in The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the cryptocurrency space. The cryptocurrency exchange Bitget is an anchor LP of Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently, providing objective, impactful, and timely information about the cryptocurrency industry. Below is our current financial disclosure. ©2023 The Block. All rights reserved. This article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended or designed to serve as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. |
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Post time 20-2-2024 23:12:27
