London Police Receiving Special Training in Cryptocurrency
July 24, 2018It will be the first time that police forces will get cryptocurrency training, as an attempt to tackle money laundering in the U.K.
The City of London Police has confirmed they are about to be introduced to a course of Cryptocurrency as part of their Economic Crime Academy. This move was decided mainly because the boom of Cryptocurrencies created an escalating fear of new opportunities for cybercriminals to do money laundry. It resulted in criticism and concern that police officers will suddenly face a problem without proper preparation to deal with this new digital currency technology.
This announcement of additional digital economy training for officers came shortly after the City of London Corporation stated their new high tech court; it was created and designed to clamp down on both financial and cyber crimes enabled by Cryptocurrencies.
There were already previous reports concerning money-laundering with Cryptocurrency involved, like the budget boost given to Police in Surrey, UK, after receiving permission to seize millions in Cryptocurrency from money-laundering.
London Police, A New Form Of Law Enforcement
They will be the first law enforcement in the UK to receive Cryptocurrency training with investigation manners. A CoLP representative described this move as pioneering when he announced the news earlier on Monday.
The Economic Crime Academy will give the Cryptocurrency course as an element of the preparation given by them.
According to news reports, the spokesperson said that the course is designed in a way where officers will be provided with what is needed for recognizing and managing Cryptocurrencies when investigating.
After finishing the course, it is expected that London Police officers will be ready to act accordingly where there are potential crimes involving crypto assets.
London Police’s decision in response to the European Union
Although the main reason for this course was due to many officers explaining their concerns about not feeling prepared to approach activities involved with this financial technology, the decision of giving this course to the CoLP also came as a consequence to the EU’s law enforcement (Europol).
Europol announced that cybercriminals could be making use of £4 billion worth in Cryptocurrency for money laundering; this number might even represent only a 4% of the illicit monetary activities.
There is a pilot scheduled for August, but according to the spokesperson, a first pilot for the crypto course is currently in progress.
It seems that, if everything goes well with the set of pilots, these courses and training will be passed out all around the United Kingdom during the autumn of 2018.
National Lead Force for Fraud
It is pretty clear that the decision of launching this project in London was because the region is among the most vital monetary centers around the globe.
Thanks to all the hard work they do, the CoLP has been recognized as the Nation Lead Force against Fraud. This way, they’ll be pioneers in the United Kingdom’s new practice with Cryptocurrency knowledge.
