Bitcoin and money laundering: how are things really?

Sometimes cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are associated with criminal activity, labeled as the perfect tool to use for the handling of sums from sources or illicit trafficking. It happens, there is no doubt, the Dark Web is full of examples, but for money laundering it seems that more traditional and established methods continue to be preferred.

Cryptocurrencies and money laundering according to SWIFT

This is revealed by the new “Follow the money” report prepared and published by SWIFT, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. He claims that "identified cases of cryptocurrency laundering are relatively few when compared to the volume of money laundered through more traditional methods." But that doesn't mean the problem doesn't exist.

Although few cryptocurrency laundering cases have been identified so far, a couple have involved major incidents worth several million dollars. Digital transactions are attractive because they are conducted in a peer-to-peer manner that circumvents compliance rules and “know your customer” checks conducted by banks, usually requiring at least an email address.

Certainly the cases that testify to employment there is no shortage of malicious crypto, we have also written about it several times on these pages: from platforms for the purchase of dirty money to schemes for the sale of currencies structured precisely for the purpose of money laundering.