Queensland's Law Enforcement Agency Calls for Reform in Crypto Laws to Combat Crime
Summary:
The Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) has identified gaps in state laws that promote illicit use of digital assets. The law enforcement agency has suggested an overhaul of Queensland's asset confiscation laws to tackle this issue. The CCC has questioned the effectiveness of the current laws (CPCA) in confiscating cryptocurrencies tied to organized crimes and proposed key amendments. Recommendations include legal recognition of "digital assets", incorporating them into anti-money laundering laws, converting seized assets into stable currencies, and ensuring automatic forfeitures.
The Queensland-based Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC), an Australian law enforcement entity, has detected certain vulnerabilities in the state's legislation that potentially promote the criminal use of digital assets. To redress these inadequacies, the Commission has suggested a comprehensive overhaul of Queensland's asset seizure laws. The CCC has scrutinized the effectiveness of the Criminal Proceeds Confiscation Act 2002 (CPCA) of Queensland in confiscating cryptocurrencies associated with organized crimes, including money laundering. The Commission has advocated for notable amendments to the Act aiming to achieve seven main outcomes, three of which are directly associated with the efficacious confiscation of digital assets. The Commission expressed "As the criminal landscape increasingly transitions to the digital sphere, digital assets are likely to proliferate, and the CPCA may become less applicable for handling such assets.” The missing terminology related to cryptocurrencies like ‘cryptocurrency’, ‘crypto asset’ or ‘digital asset’ in the CPCA is primarily responsible for these legal gaps in Queensland, notes the CCC. The Commission, emphasizing the need for CPCA to stay relevant in an evolving criminal scenario, stated “Despite the fact that digital assets can be controlled and surrendered under the CPCA, there are as yet no explicit provisions for investigation bodies in Queensland to expedite the successful seizure of digital assets.” The Commission views that the existing lack of capability to confiscate digital assets hampers Queensland's evidence collection, attribution of digital asset ownership, and facilitation of digital asset storage or transfers among others. To address this, the Commission proposed reforms including legal recognition of "digital assets", incorporating them into laws against money laundering, transforming confiscated assets into reliable currencies during legal proceedings and ensuring automatic confiscations. Alan Kirkland, Commissioner of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), in March presented a plan focused on promoting responsible financial innovation. Kirkland highlighted a “regulatory trilemma" involved with financial innovations, which includes balancing consumer safety, market integrity and endorsing financial innovation. He is confident that ASIC's strategy for innovation and effective governance can lower related risks and aid in promoting digital assets to the broader community.
Published At
4/10/2024 2:59:02 PM
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