IRS Started Targeting Illicit Bitcoin Trading On Telegram

IRS started targeting illicit Bitcoin trading on Telegram as secretive chats emerged regarding dirty digital money, according to special agent Chris Janczweski so let’s read more in our latest bitcoin news today.

Some criminals use crypto to launder funds and to obfuscate their tracks. The IRS noted that over-the-counter chats on Telegram are the preferred way for some criminals to move around dirty funds. The Internal Services Revenue IRS started targeting illicit bitcoin trading and when it comes to financial crimes there is one thing that they are watching closely and that is Telegram.

According to the IRS, the secretive chats on Telegram are one of the most worrying things for law enforcement officials. That is because peer-to-peer exchanges that operate on the messaging app can easily shift dirty or stolen funds as the special agent of the IRS Cybercrimes Unit Chirs Janczweski said. The IRS is paying more attention to crypto crime and the wider marketing general. President Joe Biden’s administration last month unveiled a new tax plan that will force businesses that conduct crypto transfers of up to $10K or more th report the dealings to the agency.

Last week, IRS commissioner Charles Rettig asked for the explicit congressional authority to regulate cryptocurrencies and to monitor and collect crypto data. The US Treasury Department said recently that cybersecurity is a huge problem by facilitating illegal activity. The special agent who in 2018 helped bust a huge child-porn site by examining BTC transactions said that he was less worried about the illegal activity on the standard exchanges or even coin swap platforms like Shapeshift which was the center of Wall Street Journal Money laundering investigation in 2018. He said:

“I don’t think, personally, that these [types of exchanges] are as big of a threat as these P2P exchanges—traders based in China that are nested in other exchanges.”

These groups work similarly to popular marketplaces like LocalBitcoins which advertises lists of offers to purchase or sell BTC or other cryptos and if it looks attractive, people message the buyer or the seller most often and the deal is done. No middlemen are required which is the case with the exchanges like Kraken, Binance, or coinbase.

Over-the-counter trades include groups like these on Telegram. Most are secretive but if you know where to look they can be an easily accessible platform. Janczweski said that often, buyers are based in China or other countries with access to exchanges with more relaxed KYC regulations and the illicit funds can move through exchanges and be converted to fiat.