The U.K.’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, has promised a “radical action plan.” She has the goal of reducing the total regulatory cost to businesses by 25% while inadvertently igniting economic growth along the way. Fighting crypto crime In the United States, Senate Democrats are urging the Trump administration to re-establish the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET). They would like to see the team go back to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
And when it comes to Senators Dick Durbin of Illinois and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, they’re just getting started. Specifically, they have requested that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche resuscitate the NCET. The NCET should be enforcing federal laws prohibiting the use of cryptocurrency for illicit purposes and prosecuting the criminal use of crypto.
"It makes no sense for DOJ to announce a hands-off approach to tools that are being used to support such terrible crimes," - Dick Durbin (Ill.)
This latest call to action comes at a moment of other notable and promising movement in changes in our financial and regulatory landscape. Block Inc., the parent company of Cash App, recently faced a $40 million penalty in New York. They received this penalty for supposedly failing to report suspicious activity.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury Department announced it was formally removing sanctions from the cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit unanimously found that OFAC’s penalty was an overreach.
In the U.K., the government is scrutinizing semipublic bodies, requiring departments to justify the necessity of each quango, reflecting a broader effort to streamline operations.
Banks have largely contributed to the fight against crime by helping notify authorities of $1.4 billion of illicit transactions in FY2024. This help from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network helps support our nation’s fight against crime and fentanyl trafficking.
