To briefly answer the titular question, while crypto has been used for sanctions evasion, it is increasingly challenging due to the inherent transparency of blockchain technology. Blockchain's digital trail allows for the detection and tracing of illicit activities, making it a less attractive option for those seeking to evade sanctions.
On June 20, 2024, Merkle Science hosted a three-hour crash course in Crypto Compliance. The full video can be watched on-demand here.
In the ever-evolving world of blockchain and crypto assets, one of the latest hot topics is crypto "mixers” (or “tumblers”). Mixers have been the subject of intense debate: Are they heroes of privacy or villains enabling financial crime? Are mixers merely open-source, decentralized code, or are they tools for criminals and bad actors to launder illicit funds? The truth likely lies somewhere in between.
The rise of decentralized finance (DeFi) has revolutionized how we interact with cryptocurrencies. However, alongside innovation comes the challenge of mitigating illicit activity. Coin swapping, a core function within DeFi, has emerged as a tool for money laundering, raising concerns about the potential misuse of these platforms. In this blog we’ll review how coin swapping on decentralized exchanges (or DEXs) works and why criminals exploit them to launder stolen funds. We'll also explore real-world examples of hacks where coin swapping played a major role in laundering stolen crypto across blockchains.
If you are reading this blog, you are likely doing so on the surface web (also known as the visible web), the part of the internet that is publicly available and indexable by search engines. The counterpoint to the surface web is the dark web, which is only accessible via specialized tools like the Tor Browser.
The U.S. Department of State in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency, the Australian Federal Police, and other international partners, have taken a significant step against the infamous LockBit ransomware group. On May 7th, 2024 the United States designated Dmitry Yuryevich Khoroshev as the leader of LockBit and offered a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction.
The rise of crypto bridges has opened up new avenues for financial transactions. However, with this innovation comes the dark side of money laundering, posing a significant challenge for law enforcement agencies and regulators. In this blog, we delve into the world of crypto bridges, exploring the insidious trends of money laundering and providing a detailed analysis of yearly data up to 2023.
Merkle Science is pleased to announce the addition of Richard Reinhardt and Ryan Gray to lead its expansion into U.S. federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. Richard Reinhardt joins Merkle Science as Lead Investigator and Ryan Gray joins the company as Account Executive. These strategic additions reinforce Merkle Science's renewed commitment to serving Public Sector customers.
