Earlier this month, the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement (J5), hosted The Challenge, an event bringing together investigators, cryptocurrency experts and data scientists, in order to find the world's most egregious tax offenders. It was the second time the event was held, and this year's focus was on cryptocurrency-facilitated crime. The J5 was established in mid-2018 by tax enforcement leaders from Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States, to combat cross-border money-laundering, tax crime and cybercrime. After the recent event, the criminal division of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reportedly stated that it identified "dozens" of potential cryptocurrency tax evaders.
Last week in New York, Hugh Brian Haney pleaded guilty to money laundering charges based on his attempt to launder about $19 million in bitcoin obtained from a drug trafficking operation that he ran on Silk Road, the infamous Dark Web marketplace. Haney is scheduled for sentencing in February; he faces a possible maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. This week in the Netherlands, Dutch police arrested the founder of Komodore64, a now-bankrupt blockchain game development company. The founder, whose name has not been confirmed, allegedly lied to investors in order to procure about $86 million in startup funds, and refused to make promised payments to vendors who were helping with the company's launch.
For more information, please refer to the following links:
- J5 Countries Host Crypto 'Challenge' in Search of Tax Criminals
- IRS Says 'Dozens' of New Crypto, Cybercriminals Are Identified
- Dark Web Narcotics Trafficker Pleads Guilty To Laundering More Than $19 Million
- Netherlands: Police Arrest Founder of Blockchain Startup That Raised Over $80M
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