The authorities in the European Union and the United States—the leaders on crypto control—have relentlessly focused on aspects of crypto crime related to terrorist financing, money laundering and sanctions busting. But there's lack of action against low-level scams and firm directions from the top brass
This illustration photo shows Heather Morgan, also known as "Razzlekhan," on a phone in front of the Bitcoin logo displayed on a screen, in Washington, DC, February 9, 2022. A couple accused of seeking to launder the bitcoin were arrested in New York, the department said. Ilya Lichtenstein, 34, and his wife Heather Morgan, 31. Image: Olivier DOULIERY / AFP
Under the headline "Scammers in Paris", an online sleuth known as ZachXBT published a blog in August detailing how a pair of youngsters stole cryptoassets worth millions.
Much to his surprise, the French police announced last week that they had acted on his tipoff and charged five people.
It was the first time his sleuthing had led to police action, ZachXBT told AFP, despite having investigated $250 million worth of crypto scams and thefts and chronicling them for his 300,000 Twitter followers.
One explanation for the lack of action is that low-level scams are not a priority.