Bitcoin (BTC) became popular several years ago as a vehicle for illegal transactions to support the burgeoning global business of human smuggling and exploitation, according to an analysis released by the U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday. .

More than $400 million spent on crimes over two years

A trend report released by the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) shows that, based on documents submitted to the government by financial companies in 2020 and 2021, cryptography was used for crimes such as human trafficking and child sexual exploitation during this period. It showed an increase in the use of assets (most commonly Bitcoin). The analysis found that over the past two years, there have been 2,311 reports of the use of crypto assets in such crimes, with a value of more than $412 million (approximately 61.8 billion yen, equivalent to 150 yen to the dollar).

“Victims of these crimes are subjected to forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude, peonage (debt slavery), or forced to engage in commercial sex acts,” the report said. It has been pointed out. The use of crypto assets is rapidly increasing, with 1,975 cases reported in 2021, compared to 336 cases in 2020.

“Human traffickers and perpetrators of related crimes despicably exploit adults and children for financial gain,” FinCEN Director Andrea Gacki said in a statement, adding that financial companies He said reporting incidents “ultimately helps law enforcement protect and save innocent lives.”

However, the most recent data examined was from December 2021, more than two years ago. This has been followed by the crypto winter and recovery of recent months.

Execute at Bitcoin ATM or Mixer

According to FinCEN, the majority of the cases evaluated in the report involve the acquisition of “child sexual abuse material (such as explicit photos and videos of children)” and crypto assets, typically conducted on darknet marketplaces. It involves the exchange of crypto assets and is said to take place in transactions carried out through crypto asset kiosks (Bitcoin ATMs) or mixers.

The use of crypto assets and common transaction methods have undergone several changes since that period, with crypto data firm Chainalysis stating in a review published last month that “the scale and scale of child sexual abuse material activity has The severity reached its peak in 2021.”

FinCEN’s report suggests that “increased awareness and vigilance” among financial institutions informed of the criminal use of crypto assets may have contributed to the increase in cases over the past two years.

｜Translation and editing: Rinan Hayashi
｜Image: Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk
｜Original text: Bitcoin Favored in Human Trafficking, Child Exploitation: FinCEN Report