The Justice Department announced that Eun Young Choi, a career prosecutor notorious for going after cybercriminals, will be the first director of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team. The DOJ was actively looking to hire a director for their recently announced National Crypto Enforcement team (NCET).
Eun Young Choi will be the first director of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), which will be the focal point for efforts to identify and demolish the misuse of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.
“One of the main focuses for the new team will be rooting out illegal activity on virtual currency exchanges as well as cryptocurrency tumbler, or mixing services, which are used to obscure tainted funds, ” Choi said in an interview.
Ms. Choi, a Harvard College and Harvard Law School graduate is a seasoned prosecutor with nearly a decade of experience within the department, and most recently served as Senior Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General.
“The department has been at the forefront of investigating and prosecuting crimes involving digital currencies since their inception,” said Director Choi.
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has also established a Virtual Asset Exploitation Unit to investigate cryptocurrency-related crimes. The FBI’s unit was formed in the aftermath of the Justice Department’s largest-ever financial seizure earlier this month. It accused a married New York couple of laundering bitcoins worth more than $4.5 billion.
Under President Joe Biden, US regulators have increased their scrutiny of the crypto industry in the aftermath of a series of high-profile cyberattacks in which Ransomware groups frequently demand payment in bitcoin.
Eun Young Choi was the lead prosecutor in a number of high-profile cases, including a transnational organization’s hack of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and other financial institutions, as well as the operation of unlicensed virtual currency exchange.
The $2 trillion cryptocurrency market has exploded as companies and investors seek higher returns and a foothold in a technology that is still in its early stages.
