The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Terrorism and Illicit Finance, has scheduled a hearing on June 20th on the topic of “Illicit Use of Virtual Currency and the Law Enforcement Response.” This is an important topic that impacts all cryptocurrencies so expect wide viewership from the crypto industry.
For some time now, there has been legislation on the Hill that seeks to curtail transfers of Bitcoin and other digital currencies, but the legislation has stalled due to intrinsic technical issues and the lack of understanding by policymakers.
The Subcommittee has scheduled the following witnesses to testify on the issue:
- Gregory Nevano, Deputy Assistant Director, Illicit Trade, Travel, and Finance Division, Homeland Security Investigations
- Robert Novy, Deputy Assistant Director, Office of Investigations, United States Secret Service
- Thomas Ott, Associate Director, Enforcement Division, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
The memo announcing the hearing states that law enforcement has “identified an uptick in terrorist and criminal exploitation of virtual currencies to raise funds and launder money.”
The Representatives acknowledge that the majority of transactions are legitimate but the lure of anonymity and speed of transfer is compelling to nefarious characters.
The hearing seeks to educate members on law enforcement’s response to the illicit use of cryptocurrencies including an examination of whether law enforcement is properly equipped to handle this trend.
The hearing is open to the public and will be live streamed on the House Financial Services Committee web site. It is scheduled to start at 2PM ET on June 20th.