Feds’ Crypto Focus Is No Longer On ‘Whack-A-Mole’ Cases (Law360)

Law360, February 23, 2024 

Feds’ Crypto Focus Is No Longer On ‘Whack-A-Mole’ Cases 

Speaking at a New York City Bar Association event, the heads of the Illicit Finance and Money Laundering Unit in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said law enforcement is more strategically focused than ever when determining which crypto cases to bring. There appeared to be a period where law enforcement was playing “a game of whack-a-mole” to keep up with crypto crimes, said Noah Solowiejczyk, deputy chief of the unit. Now, the government is filing its cases with the intention of bringing the broader industry into compliance. ‘I think U.S. law enforcement is now really thinking strategically, systemically — who are the systemic, important actors that need to come into compliance to make sure that we’re not seeing flagrant, massive amounts of sanctions violations, money laundering, all those sorts of things through this technology,’ said Solowiejczyk.