DOJ Names New Crypto Enforcement Director, Opens Crypto Crime Unit

Eun Young Choi is named as the director for crypto “enforcement team” founded last October by the US Department of Justice (DOJ).

According to an announcement, DOJ has appointed the former cybersecurity prosecutor Eun Young Choi as as the director of National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), aimed at cracking down on digital currency schemes involved in illicit finance. It specifically targets both cybercriminals and nation-states, including Iran and North Korea.

Choi commented on his appointement:

“The NCET will play a pivotal role in ensuring that as the technology surrounding digital assets grows and evolves, the department in turn accelerates and expands its efforts to combat their illicit abuse by criminals of all kinds. I am excited to lead the NCET’s incredible and talented team of attorneys, and to get to work on this important priority for the department. I would like to thank Assistant Attorney General Polite and the Criminal Division’s leadership for this opportunity.”

New Virtual Asset Exploitation Unit

The U.S. Department of Justice wrote in the announcement that it is establishing a unit for blockchain analysis and virtual asset seizure called the Virtual Asset Exploitation Unit.

The Virtual Asset Exploitation Unit will be made up of a team of crypto experts providing services to the FBI. It will also work on developing cryptocurrency enforcement tools against future threats.

The unit is part of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), a division created in 2021 to investigate criminal uses of cryptocurrency carried out by cryptocurrency exchanges, coin mixers, and other entities engaged in money laundering.

With the creation of the new unit, the NCET will also begin to act outside U.S. borders. The Virtual Asset Exploitation Unit plans to strengthen earlier efforts from the DOJ and support law enforcement at domestic and international levels of government.