Stronger cooperation, training and effective use of legal tools are needed to tackle the growing misuse of virtual assets in financial crime, Deputy Attorney General Savvas Angelides has said.
Opening the 'Virtual Asset Regulation, Investigation and Enforcement Training Symposium,' held under the auspices of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU in Limassol on 7 April, Angelides said asset recovery remains a priority for Cyprus, especially as criminal networks increasingly use cryptocurrencies, digital currencies and other technologies to move and conceal illicit funds across borders.
“Crime, particularly financial crime, is not merely about unlawful acts. It is about profit,” he said. “By targeting the proceeds of crime, we strike at the very incentive that fuels criminal activity, ensuring that crime does not pay,” he noted.
Angelides said depriving criminals of illicit gains is not only a severe punishment but also a key means of disrupting future offences, preventing illegal proceeds from entering the legal economy, safeguarding financial integrity and compensating victims. He added that asset recovery also promotes justice and accountability, while helping strengthen public trust when citizens see stolen or illegally obtained funds recovered and returned for public benefit.
At the same time, he said, the rapidly evolving financial environment has made investigations increasingly complex. Criminal groups exploit shell companies, sophisticated laundering techniques and complex cross-border ownership structures, while moving funds and other assets at high speed through virtual assets and other digital tools.
Over the last decade, digital innovation has transformed the global financial ecosystem, creating new challenges for regulators, investigators, financial intelligence units and prosecutors, he said. Virtual assets, he added, can be exploited for illicit purposes such as fraud, cybercrime, sanctions evasion, money laundering and even terrorist financing.
“The increasing sophistication of financial crime in the digital environment requires strong analytical and investigative capacity and close collaboration among authorities not only domestically but also across borders,” he said.
Angelides stressed that close cooperation between regulators, FIUs, law enforcement authorities and prosecutors, as well as with international partners, is essential to addressing those challenges. He also underlined the importance of technological expertise and training in tracing crypto transactions, identifying illicit flows, freezing such assets and using digital material as evidence before the courts.
He placed particular emphasis on public-private partnerships, saying Cyprus has recently established such cooperation between the FIU, the police and commercial banks.
“Our task is not easy,” he said, adding that authorities must invest in capacity building, update legislation, use technology and deepen cooperation, while respecting “human rights and the rule of law.”
(Source: CNA)
