US Treasury Wants Tighter Control Over Crypto Crime

During his testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on April 9, United States Deputy Treasury Secretary Adewale Adeyemo continued pushing for his agency to have more enforcement powers.

The hearing, which focused on countering illicit finance, terrorism, and sanctions evasion, saw Adeyemo put forth three proposed reforms to help increase US efforts in cracking down on international wrongdoers using cryptocurrencies.

Adeyemo’s latest testimony built upon proposals made by the Treasury Department in November. In his statement, Adeyemo outlined the three specific changes the department was seeking.

These included implementing secondary sanctions directed at “foreign digital asset providers” involved in the illegal financing of activities.

Adeyemo further explained that while US sanctions currently prohibit institutions from using correspondent accounts and transaction processing through banks, this does not always apply to crypto exchanges and money services.