The U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network received nearly 140 responses to a request the bureau made in December for input on possible strategies for permanently regulating the real estate sector for anti-money laundering purposes.
Seeking to counter the use of bitcoins and other digital tokens in ransomware payoffs and fraud schemes while also further combating their use in illicit finance, U.S. lawmakers want to legislate a broader regulatory framework around cryptocurrency and other online assets.
The U.S. financial intelligence unit is now accepting tips of possible anti-money laundering violations at banks, broker-dealers and other financial institutions under a recently expanded whistleblower program, sources said.