A new development for the crypto sphere in the US has occurred as the President of the US, Donald Trump, signed an executive order to establish a task force against financial fraud. The task force is the first of its kind, with an emphasis on the misuse of cryptocurrencies.
Trump creates anti-fraud task force
According to reports, it has only been a couple of days since the US President Donald Trump approved of the creation of the new anti crypto-fraud task force. This is a unique event for the US since the task force will only concentrate on cybercrime and financial fraud revolving around the misuse of cryptocurrencies.
‘The Task Force on Market Integrity and Consumer Fraud‘, as stated in the document signed by President Trump, has Rod J. Rosenstein, the Deputy Attorney General, as it’s chair. Apart from him, another big name involved with the project includes the Director of the FBI, Christopher A. Wray.
For now, the task force’s goal is to provide information and recommendations to Attorney General Jeff Sessions on financial fraud. The recommendations are expected to represent the starting point for investigating and possibly prosecuting various specific cases.
Eventually, the task force will be able to organize a meeting with officials or government agencies and to even present the President with suggestions regarding the best course of action. This will include anti-crypto crime actions and changes to legislation.
Old task force needed replacement
Almost a decade ago, in 2009, when the financial crisis hit hard, Barack Obama created a similar task force called the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. This new group is supposed to take the place of the old task force, and its creation will help with focusing the efforts of the current administration. This is a necessary change, considering the change in the financial landscape.
Commenting on the executive order, Rosenstein stated that there are companies and employees who have committed fraud since they started dealing with digital currencies. As a result, the financial market in the US has suffered greatly, as has funding for healthcare and other sectors, as a knock-on effect. Back in February, Rosenstein said that the banks are the first line of defense against crypto fraud.
SEC’s recent actions
The head of SEC’s Enforcement Division Cyber Unit, Robert Cohen, took a positive stance towards cryptos back in May, stating that the SEC is rather open about meeting this industry’s representatives to discuss ideas and new developments.
It is worth noting that the SEC is among the biggest financial regulators in the US. One of its recent crypto projects was the creation of a website that teaches new investors how to spot fake ICOs and other types of fraud. The SEC has also officially decided that Ethereum (ETH) is not a security, which has led to a large increase in ETH’s price.
Finally, the SEC led the arrest of three persons who were responsible for an ICO scam that allowed them to steal around $32 million from investors.
