Tokyo Police Arrest Buyers In $530M Cryptocurrency Hack
Two Men Arrested in Japan for Purchasing NEM Cryptocurrency Stolen from Coincheck
What Happened?
On March 11, 2020. Tokyo police arrested two Japanese citizens for alleged possession of NEM cryptocurrency that was stolen from the crypto exchange operator Coincheck in a massive cyberattack in 2018. According to investigative sources, the suspects were aware that the cryptocurrency they acquired was stolen from the exchange.
Who Is Impacted?
Virtual asset service providers, trustees, and OTC traders that buy, sell, or custody cryptocurrencies.
Why This Matters?
Supervisory technology for regulators, financial intelligence units, and law enforcement has become incredibly sophisticated. Firms such as CipherTrace, Elliptic, and Chainalysis allow regulators to follow the money, monitor wallets and entities in real-time, and quickly build a trail of evidence for prosecution. Exchanges and other virtual asset service providers need to respond to requests for information about the cryptocurrency transactions they facilitate.
What’s Next?
Any business that facilitates or promotes cryptocurrency or virtual asset transactions should ensure their anti-money laundering software is capable of identifying high-risk transactions.
Transaction monitoring software such as Alessa or ComplyAdvantage can help firms integrate blockchain data with know your customer (KYC) data, freeze or escalate transactions, and compile suspicious activity reports and regulatory filings.
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