The US Department of Justice will expand investigations in the field of cryptocurrencies

The US Department of Justice will expand efforts to investigate crypto-related offenses by merging a task force with a cybercrime unit.

Established in 2021, the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) will merge with the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS), Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri has announced.

“It’s time to take NCET to the next level. The project turned out to be an extremely successful startup. Merging with CCIPS will give him the resources and the opportunity to achieve even more,” she said.

The merger will double the number of prosecutors available to work on digital asset crime, Argentieri said.

“For everyone involved in cybercrime, it has become obvious that their work is interconnected with cryptocurrencies, and in the future this will become even more pronounced,” she added.

According to Argentieri, another consequence of the merger will be to raise the status of NCET investigations.

The official recalled some of the results of the group’s activities. In January, the agency arrested Anatoly Legkodymov, founder of Bitzlato, on charges of laundering $700 million associated with the Hydra darknet marketplace. In December 2022, the organizer of the attack on the Mango Markets DeFi platform, Abraham Eisenberg, was detained in Puerto Rico. The damage from the exploit implemented by the group amounted to $116 million.

Argentieri also announced the departure of the first director, Eun Yong Choi, from NCET. She will be replaced by Claudia Quiros.

Recall that in May, the former head of the group announced tougher measures against illegal activities on crypto trading platforms.

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