Former Acting Director and Deputy director of the CIA Michael Morell : Based on our research,I have come to believe that if there was one financial ecosystem for bad actors to use that would maximize law enforcement's chances of identifying them and their

Michael Morell Former acting director and deputy director of the CIA,conducted a sweeping review of Crypto's role in illicit activity. In his report, he noted that one expert said that

If all criminals used Blockchain, we could wipe out illicit financial activity

Morell concluded that

Based on our research, I have come to believe that if there was one financial ecosystem for bad actors to use that would maximize law enforcement's chances of identifying them and their illicit activities, it would be Blockchain

Some of the important findings are

Identified cases of laundering through Cryptocurrencies remain relatively small compared to the volume of cash laundered through traditional methods

It is easier for law enforcement to trace illicit activity using Bitcoin than it is to trace cross border illegal activity using traditional banking transactions and far easier than the cash transactions

I pay you $2,000 in a dark alley, who are the witnesses to that transaction? Just you and me right? With Cryptocurrency.. The whole world could be the witness

Politicians and Anti Crypto lobby always try to set the narrative that the Cryptocurrencies are used in illicit activities at much larger scale.They try to convince people that crackdown on Cryptocurrency would be helpful to crackdown illegal activities. But the truth is quite opposite and people in the system knows it quite well too.

I couldn't stop wondering when the govt officials comes on TV and says,"We are very concerned about the use of Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin in financing terrorism,money laundering"

Either those people doesn't have any idea how they can use Blockchain forensics to track down those people or they know but doesn't want to do it.,which is ofcourse not the fault of technology at all.

Source : https://www.coindesk.com/layer2/paymentsweek/2022/04/25/drugs-drugs-and-more-drugs-crypto-on-the-dark-web/

Report : An analysis of Bitcoin's use in illicit finance by Michael Morell (2021)