Building a Crypto Compliance Program and a Crypto Investigations Team

/
Building a Crypto Compliance Program and a Crypto Investigations Team

With any emerging technology, change is inevitable. At the 35th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference, Lourdes Miranda, CFE, CEO of the FinTech Advisory Group, LLC, outlined what the future of compliance programs looks like alongside the evolution of cryptocurrency. It’s a daunting proposition when traditional banking remains the global standard, but as Miranda pointed out, the term “crypto wallet” is synonymous with a traditional “bank account.” With basic training, compliance and investigative professionals are much closer to a working knowledge of crypto than many think. 

Read More

The Traceability of Bitcoin’s Unspent Transaction Output System 

/
The Traceability of Bitcoin’s Unspent Transaction Output System 

During the 35th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference, Sean Tweed, CFE, gave fraud investigators an overview of Bitcoin and how it can be used to trace funds across different addresses in his session titled, “The Traceability of Bitcoin’s Unspent Transaction Output System”. Contrary to popular belief, Bitcoin was not created by criminals to be an untraceable tool for money laundering. Criminals have exploited it, but its model was actually created to make transactions public and traceable.  

Read More

Unpacking the Mysteries of Cryptocurrency

/
Unpacking the Mysteries of Cryptocurrency

With more and more fraudsters working in the shadows of the crypto world, investigators of all kinds must become familiar with these new and evolving technologies. A panel of four experts helped unpack these mysteries at the 34th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference in a session entitled “Cryptocurrency Tracing and Investigations: Real-World Successes and Challenges.”

Indeed, chasing scammers in the borderless world of cyberspace presents its own unique challenges. Not only are the legal parameters of this ever-changing technology still fuzzy and global in nature, but simply gathering the necessary evidence can prove tricky.

Read More

Jamie Bartlett: In Search of The Missing Cryptoqueen

/
Jamie Bartlett: In Search of The Missing Cryptoqueen

As an investigative journalist, Jamie Bartlett has a knack for spotting inconsistencies and strange behaviors. His published books include “The Dark Net” (2014) that details niche internet subcultures and online crime, “Radicals Chasing Utopia” (2017) about the motivations and growth of fringe political groups, and “The People Vs Tech” (2018), which won the 2019 Transmission Prize.

But when Bartlett began pursuing the mysterious disappearance of OneCoin founder Dr. Ruja Ignatova in November 2018, his next endeavor proved to require an even higher level of scrutiny as he began unraveling the truth behind a billion-dollar scam whose mastermind seemingly vanished into thin air.

Read More