Europol convenes global taskline on crypto crime and oversight

Europol gathered investigators, regulators and industry analysts in Vienna for the 9th Global Conference on Criminal Finances and Cryptoassets, advancing joint standards and case-work coordination as member states warn that crypto-enabled crime is stretching law-enforcement capacity.

The agency’s takeaway is blunt: crypto crime is more professionalised and transnational, and the workload is “a significant burden” for EU forces. That assessment, delivered at the conference by Europol’s financial-crime center, cited complex cross-chain laundering and sanctions-evasion patterns that require faster data-sharing and aligned investigative playbooks.

Europol’s process outputs focus on two fronts: harmonising operational standards among EU services and widening the circle with non-EU partners, including UNODC and the Basel Institute, which co-hosted this year’s conference. The event formalised information-exchange channels and training tracks for case agents, digital-forensics units and prosecutors, aiming to shrink response times on seizures and emergency preservation orders.   

Case vectors discussed map to what desks see on-chain: mixer-hopping and chain-hop bridges in ransomware flows; “pig-butchering” rings that funnel proceeds through OTC Telegram brokers and high-yield DeFi pools; romance and investment scams that weaponise self-custody approvals; and laundering stacks that pass through small exchanges with light Travel-Rule controls. Europol considers blockchain analytics, rapid MLAT templates, and standardized on-chain data requests essential for ensuring freezes and confiscations hold up in court.

FATF’s 2025 update shows more jurisdictions legislating the Travel Rule and issuing supervisory “best practices,” giving investigators clearer grounds to demand originator/beneficiary data across borders. That said, implementation remains patchy, leaving gaps that criminals can exploit between full-compliance and light-touch regimes. 

• In March, OFAC withdrew sanctions on Tornado Cash after a legal review, a landmark reversal that nonetheless leaves mixer activity under close watch by multiple agencies. 
• Japan, meanwhile, continues to deepen its framework under the Payment Services Act and is considering FIEA-level treatment for some crypto assets to strengthen enforcement tools. 
• Singapore’s MAS has enforced Travel-Rule obligations through PSN02, with thresholds and data fields that VASPs must exchange on digital-token transfers. 
• Hong Kong’s SFC runs a dual VATP regime with a public register and a streamlined licensing process introduced in January, anchoring custody, market integrity and retail-access requirements.

Traders will read two near-term implications. First, exchanges and OTC venues servicing Europe should expect sharper KYC/Travel-Rule enforcement, which raises friction for privacy-heavy assets and multi-hop cash-outs; liquidity in those pairs tends to thin when compliance teams clamp down on deposits from mixers or high-risk bridges. Second, coordinated takedowns and better MLAT velocity shorten the half-life of stolen funds, increasing clawback risk and dampening the expected value of exploit-linked tokens – one reason post-hack “relief rallies” have faded faster this year.