The US Treasury official has urged Congress to give him more power against crypto crime

A US Treasury official raised concerns about illicit crypto finance in a statement to the House Financial Services Committee, asking for more powers to go after bad actors. A committee hearing is set for February 15.

Brian Nelson, the Treasury Department's Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, emphasized this question in a statement prepared for a congressional hearing on terrorism and crypto-crime crimes.

Nelson's statement coincided with intense attention from Washington lawmakers, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who has been pushing the anti-money laundering bill. The Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act (DAAMLA), which Warren reintroduced to the US Senate in July 2023, clearly targets the illegal use of crypto-assets for money laundering and terrorist financing.

We look forward to discussing Treasury's busy month of protecting America's financial system from illicit finance. https://t.co/sH9jHycPBY

— Secretary Brian Nelson (@UnderSecTFI) February 13, 2024

For the past decade, Treasury has been working on a framework aimed at combating terrorist financing that “reduces illicit financial risks by promoting responsible innovation,” Nelson said in prepared testimony.

However, the Treasury has tools to address some issues, including allowing authorities to hold firms accountable for failing to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act, which imposes certain requirements on financial institutions to prevent and detect money laundering and other financial crimes. Nelson says:

“[…] We need more tools and resources to root out illegal financing by players in virtual asset markets and platforms. That's why we look forward to working with Congress to pass common-sense reforms that improve our tools and authorities to meet the challenges we face today.

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In the year By 2023, the Treasury Department has shared proposals with lawmakers to expand its powers, providing new sanctions tools to crack down on wrongdoing in the cryptocurrency space. Although this was not explicitly mentioned in Nelson's statement, the Treasury emphasized the need for more regulation of Storicoin.

Nelson's comments follow the recently published Treasury 2024 National Risk Assessment on Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Proliferation Financing. These assessments have highlighted the risks and concerns related to illicit finance in the US, including the cryptocurrency sector. The reports emphasized that while drug trafficking is mainly in cash, there is a growing trend of bad actors using virtual assets.

The Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Inclusion of the House Financial Services Committee is set to hold a hearing on February 15 looking at transparency and illegal activities.

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