Since 2014, the Unified State Register of Judicial Decisions of Ukraine has included information on more than 1,500 decisions on criminal proceedings, one way or another related to various cryptocurrencies. Local media reported this.
The majority of criminal cases (420 proceedings) are related to fraud and most often relate to the activities of various financial pyramids.
In 345 cases, digital assets were mentioned in the context of their use by drug traffickers, in 54 - in connection with investigations into interference in computer networks.
The register also contains criminal proceedings regarding money laundering, document falsification, extortion, corruption and terrorist financing using cryptocurrencies.
According to media reports, at the time of writing, convictions have been reached in only a third of the 1,500 criminal proceedings.
They also clarified that in 2023, cases involving cryptocurrencies made up a small part of the total number of 475,000 open criminal proceedings. One possible reason is that law enforcement officers lack the qualifications to conduct complex investigations.
Since last year, employees of supervisory and law enforcement agencies have been undergoing various specialized trainings, during which, in particular, they are trained in the use of tools for analyzing blockchain transactions. However, journalists found references to the practical use of such tools in only two court decisions.
Let us recall that in May 2023, the US Internal Revenue Service and Chainalysis analysts announced cooperation with Ukraine to track evidence of Russians evading sanctions using cryptocurrencies.
In November, Ukrainian officials and law enforcement officers took an OSCE-funded course on tracking criminal Bitcoin transactions.
According to the cyber police of Ukraine, from January to November last year, law enforcement agencies received more than 1,500 applications related to crimes in the field of cryptocurrency.
The majority of criminal cases (420 proceedings) are related to fraud and most often relate to the activities of various financial pyramids.
In 345 cases, digital assets were mentioned in the context of their use by drug traffickers, in 54 - in connection with investigations into interference in computer networks.
The register also contains criminal proceedings regarding money laundering, document falsification, extortion, corruption and terrorist financing using cryptocurrencies.
According to media reports, at the time of writing, convictions have been reached in only a third of the 1,500 criminal proceedings.
They also clarified that in 2023, cases involving cryptocurrencies made up a small part of the total number of 475,000 open criminal proceedings. One possible reason is that law enforcement officers lack the qualifications to conduct complex investigations.
Since last year, employees of supervisory and law enforcement agencies have been undergoing various specialized trainings, during which, in particular, they are trained in the use of tools for analyzing blockchain transactions. However, journalists found references to the practical use of such tools in only two court decisions.
Let us recall that in May 2023, the US Internal Revenue Service and Chainalysis analysts announced cooperation with Ukraine to track evidence of Russians evading sanctions using cryptocurrencies.
In November, Ukrainian officials and law enforcement officers took an OSCE-funded course on tracking criminal Bitcoin transactions.
According to the cyber police of Ukraine, from January to November last year, law enforcement agencies received more than 1,500 applications related to crimes in the field of cryptocurrency.
