Officials from the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands have conducted a training session for Ukrainian law enforcement officers aimed at enhancing their capabilities in tracing cryptocurrency and blockchain transactions.
Over four days, experts from the IRS Criminal Investigation, Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD), and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HRMC) delivered virtual training focused on areas such as money laundering, fraudulent cryptocurrency transactions, and blockchain forensic investigations. This collaborative effort seeks to empower Ukrainian law enforcement to detect and combat sanctions evasion, a growing concern as pro-Russian military groups and others exploit cryptocurrencies to bypass sanctions.
During the training, government agencies collaborated with blockchain analytics companies CipherTrace and BlockTrace, engaging participants from various Ukrainian law enforcement agencies, including the Cyber-Police Department of National Police of Ukraine and Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation. Niels Obbink, director general of the Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service, highlighted the importance of international knowledge-sharing to strengthen the fight against cybercrime.
The training program builds on a previous session held in May, conducted alongside Chainalysis, which primarily focused on methods investigators could employ to target financial networks used by sanctions evaders seeking to conceal their assets. The IRS-CI, currently involved in 30 sanctions investigations, collaborates actively with the Office of Foreign Assets Control to freeze assets controlled by individuals facing sanctions.
To enhance international cooperation, the IRS-CI has 12 attachés posted abroad, with one stationed at Europol headquarters in the Netherlands, specifically focusing on cyber-related issues. Moreover, four additional cyber attachés were deployed earlier this year to assist partner nations in training efforts. This international collaboration underscores the importance of sharing tools and expertise to effectively combat cybercrime on a global scale.
