Japan, 6.000 suspicious cryptocurrency transactions identified. Potentially illegal operations are on the rise.
The National Police Agency in Japan claims to have identified almost 6.000 transactions suspected of cryptocurrency in the period from January to October 2018, according to the latest report cited by the local newspaper The Japanese Times. This is a figure that reflects an increase of 800% compared to the 669 cases reported from April to December 2017.
Although the numbers are certainly sensational, the National Police Agency believes that the growth is mainly caused by technical factors. In fact, in April 2017, the Japanese authorities revised the law on preventing the transfer of the proceeds of crime and asked cryptocurrency exchange operators to report suspicious transactions that could be involved in money laundering or other illegal activities. So given that businesses are getting used to a notification system and learning to detect suspicious activity, the number of reported cases is naturally and physiologically increasing.
In a separate dossier, the Japanese National Public Safety Commission stressed that cryptocurrency transactions can be used by criminals to transfer proceeds from illegal sources. The anonymous nature of some coins and the inability to trace senders and recipients allows you to transfer money abroad and to cover tracks.
Commission officials explained that it is difficult to trace the proceeds of criminal activities carried out in the form of digital assets as there are no universal norms and regulatory requirements applied to virtual currency.
The police suggest paying attention to transactions made by users who access their account from abroad even if they reside in Japan.
