Maximilien De Hoop Cartier, a descendant of the family famous for their French luxury goods Cartier, has been indicted for his participation in a network that allegedly used several shell companies to launder drug trafficking money proceeds using USDT. Cartier and five Colombian individuals allegedly conspired to directly launder .5 million and used these shell […]
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FinCEN Finds Increased Cryptocurrency Involvement in Human Trafficking
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has released an analysis that reports an alleged increase in the use of cryptocurrency in human trafficking cases. According to FinCEN, reports of cryptocurrency linked to these purposes grew from 336 in 2020 to 1,975 in 2021, an increase of almost 500%. FinCEN Alerts of Crypto Usage Linked to […]
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Philippines Law Enforcement Busts Crypto Scam Center, Over 1,000 Human Trafficking Victims Rescued
Over 1,000 human trafficking victims were recently rescued from a “fraud factory” in Mabalacat, a town located nearly 90 kilometers northwest of Manila, Philippines law enforcement has said. Michelle Sabino from the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group said trafficking victims use social media platforms such as Facebook to lure unsuspecting individuals.
Cryptocurrency Scams
According to Philippines law enforcement, over 1,000 human trafficking victims were rescued following a recent raid on a compound in Mabalacat, approximately 90 kilometers northwest of the capital, Manila. According to officials, many of the trafficking victims came from Vietnam, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Nepal, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Taiwan.
As per a VOA report, the trafficking victims were forced to perpetrate cryptocurrency scams during shifts that lasted up to 18 hours per day. Michelle Sabino, a member of the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group, is quoted in the report explaining how the trafficking victims used social media platforms such as Facebook to lure unsuspecting individuals. The victims themselves were reportedly lured by the promise of employment.
“They were lured by social media posts promising good-paying jobs only to get trapped in these compounds that had armed guards to keep them from leaving,” Sabino explained.
The Indonesian Tip-Off
The Philippines law enforcement’s raid on the compound in Mabalacat on May 4 and 5 came after it reportedly received a tip from Indonesian officials who were inundated with pleas from trafficking victims’ families. According to the report, most of the trafficking victims are university-educated individuals with social media skills. The Global Anti-Scam Organization said the so-called online “fraud factories” are known to prefer employing English and Chinese-speaking individuals.
Meanwhile, the report also noted that while the fraud factories in the Philippines were generally thought to be located in remote areas, a recent hearing in the country’s legislature revealed that criminals are also setting them up in urban areas. While trafficking victims are sometimes given the opportunity to buy themselves out, many remain trapped because their families cannot afford the demanded fees.
What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Expert Claims Cryptocurrency Mining Requires Regulation To Stop Human Trafficking
Yesterday, an expert witness testified before a US Senate subcommittee on the link between cryptocurrency and human trafficking. He presented a series of recommendations to disrupt this abhorrent industry. One of which proposes for cryptocurrency miners to comply with legacy anti-money laundering legislation. Which, if implemented, would stifle blockchain payments.
Cryptocurrency Is A Channel That Enables Human Trafficking
In his address to the Senate subcommittee, David Murray, VP of the Financial Integrity Network, a Washinton DC-based advisory firm, began by drawing attention to the enormous profits involved in human trafficking. He said:
“Developed economies are the most profitable for human traffickers, with criminal organizations earning more than ,000 annually in profit from each victim in North America.”
![cryptocurrency legislation](https://www.newsbtc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/fin-jason-dixson-photography-headshot-murray-dave-0126_1.jpg)
Image of David Murray courtesy of finintegrity.com
Murray then went on to say that human trafficking interacts extensively with the entire financial system. Unlike other criminal industries, for example, drugs trafficking, which is mainly a cash business. Whereas human traffickers use cash, retail payment systems, online payment systems, and cryptocurrencies.
The problem lies in areas of the financial system with poor transparency, which Murray pinpointed as small payments carried out through retail payment systems, online payment systems, cryptocurrencies, and large payments carried out through anonymous companies.
As such, Murray made three recommendations aimed at improving financial transparency across the board. His second proposal targets cryptocurrencies by way of creating a new class of financial institution – the “virtual asset transaction validators.”
And in essence, just like legacy financial institutions, cryptocurrency miners would be required to carry out due diligence on counterparties. This would involve controlling network participation by overseeing any issuers, exchanges, or custodians they serve.
Murray argued that this is necessary because:
“The lack of system-wide financial crimes compliance (FCC) governance for some existing cryptocurrencies allows criminals space to operate and makes it difficult for the United States to isolate rogue service providers from the U.S. financial system.”
More Legislation Only Impinges Our Freedoms
The fallout from Murray’s proposals has not been positive. While there is no denying that human trafficking is a despicable crime, perhaps this is a step too far.
Implementing these proposals would almost certainly shackle the entire US cryptocurrency mining industry. Perhaps leaving only large corporates, with the resources to comply, as the sole operators.
On that note, Peter Van Valkenburgh, Director of Research at the Coin Center, said:
“It’s couched as regulating but what it would be is an effective ban on American persons or businesses using open blockchain networks because it would require them to use it on a permissioned basis.”
Moreover, Valkenburgh sees sense in a certain level of anonymity. For example, in the case of Hong Kong protestors concerned about being tracked by the Chinese government.
And once again, legislative proposals impose a disproportionate amount of force, resulting in the loss of more personal freedoms — a situation many crypto advocates balk at.
BREAKING: Former U.S. Treasury official urging Congress to regulate crypto miners.
"…is an effective ban on American persons or businesses using open blockchain networks"
In other words, their running out of reasons to stop bitcoin.
— Rhythm (@Rhythmtrader) September 3, 2019
Featured Image from Shutterstock
The post Expert Claims Cryptocurrency Mining Requires Regulation To Stop Human Trafficking appeared first on NewsBTC.
British Royal, US Ambassador Say Tech, Blockchain Can Help Fight Human Trafficking
n Dignitaries and experts noted the potential of new tech like blockchain in fighting human trafficking at a conference in Viennan
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US Congress Passes Bill to Require Study of Crypto in Sex, Drug Trafficking
n The United States House of Representatives has passed a bill to commission a study into how crypto and online marketplaces can be used to facilitate sex and drug traffickingn
CryptScout #BitFeed RSS – Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency News 24/7
Midshipmen at US Naval Academy Under Investigation for Dark Web Drug Trafficking
Reports estimate that between 10 to as much as two dozen midshipmen based at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, near Washington, D.C., were part of an elaborate scheme to supply their peers with illicit drugs including cocaine, LSD, and ketamine. As reported by Fox News, the criminal ring used Bitcoin to purchase the drugs on the dark web.
Sources from within the academy (who spoke on the condition of anonymity) told Fox News that as many as two-dozen midshipmen are under investigation. The investigation is still unfolding, so as of yet, no formal or pending charges have been brought against the accused.
Naval Academy spokesman David Mckinney was quoted as saying that the “command-assisted investigation” was opened after the Naval Academy and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) received “a midshipman report of alleged recreational drug use within the Brigade.”
“The results of the investigation are still pending. We are continuing to work with NCIS on these reported allegations. The Navy has a zero tolerance for drug abuse and takes all allegations of misconduct very seriously,” Mckinney said.
Despite not releasing their names, two of the accused are prior enlisted midshipmen who had spent time in the fleet before gaining appointment to the Naval Academy, which educates and trains officers for the Navy and the Marine Corps. One of the midshipmen tested positive on a drug test in early January after returning from Christmas break.
Between 2010 and 2011, according to the Annapolis Capital, “NCIS conducted an 11-month investigation into the use of synthetic marijuana, or spice, by midshipmen. That investigation ended the careers of at least 27 midshipmen.” Further, naval officials have confirmed from 2010 through 2017, seven midshipmen were expelled for drugs.
Dark Web
This news comes at a time when governments around the world are pointing an accusatory finger at cryptocurrencies for their alleged role in online drug marketplaces and money laundering operations, despite the fact that recent studies have shown that money laundering cases associated with cryptocurrencies account for less than one percent of the total.
The dark web is a part of the World Wide Web that is only accessible by means of special software called a Tor browser. This permits users and website operators to remain anonymous and untraceable, making it a fitting environment for a sort of online, open-air drug market.
The Silk Road, one of the most infamous sites on the dark web, was the first of these modern darknet markets, used as a platform for selling illegal drugs and weapons. In October 2013, the FBI shut down the website and arrested Ross William Ulbricht on charges of being the site’s pseudonymous founder “Dread Pirate Roberts.”
The post Midshipmen at US Naval Academy Under Investigation for Dark Web Drug Trafficking appeared first on NewsBTC.
ICE Exploiting Blockchain to Expose Crypto Use in Drug Trafficking
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is working to expose transactions made by drug traffickers using cryptocurrencies to hide their trails.
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Moldova Eyes Blockchain IDs to Help Curb Child Trafficking
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UN Agencies Turn to Blockchain In Fight Against Child Trafficking
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