27,000 Requests Last Year: Key to Collaboration for Binance Investigations Team

The Binance Investigations and Intelligence team plays a role in helping global law enforcement agencies identify and combat crypto-related crime.

Interview

The historic crime has left a proverbial black mark on the cryptocurrency ecosystem with multi-million dollar hacks, scams and fraud cases making headlines around the world.

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Various research reports have highlighted the use of cryptocurrencies for illicit purposes, with varying degrees of severity since the inception of Bitcoin in 2009. It has had its ups and downs, but crypto is still seen by some as a way to launder money, finance terrorism and facilitate other serious crimes.

The prevalence of cryptocurrency-related crime has inevitably led to the development of better tools and services to track and trace funds across different blockchains and cryptocurrency exchanges. Companies like CipherTrace, Chainalysis and Elliptic offer enterprise monitoring and analysis tools, while some of the biggest players have gone so far as to create their own investigation and monitoring services to identify illicit transfers on their platforms. .

Binance is one of them, with its exchange operating in several jurisdictions around the world. Its global footprint has demanded greater oversight of its operations, which is carried out by Binance's Investigations and Intelligence Department.

Cointelegraph sat down for an interview with Head of Department Nils Andersen-Röed and Senior Director Jennifer Hicks at the Web Summit in Lisbon to unveil the role their team plays within the organization and the space broader cryptocurrency and crime fighting.

Both people have a wealth of experience in the industry. Andersen-Röed rose through the ranks of the Dutch Politie and led its Dark Web unit from 2016 to 2018. He then worked for Europol's specialized Dark Web team for three years before joining Binance.

Hicks' military background led her to serve as a cryptographic linguist for the US Navy from 2010 to 2016. She then moved on to specialized investigative work as a senior cybercrime investigator for 2020's Chainalysis to 2021 as a precursor to his current role at Binance.