FBI agents want to pay their informants with crypto

Home » Crypto news » Bitcoin (BTC) news » FBI agents want to pay their informants with crypto

https://cryptoast.fr/agents-fbi-veulent-remunerer-informateurs-avec-crypto/

Cryptocurrencies often appear as tools appreciated by lovers of discretion, in order to carry out operations that are both rapid and uncensorable. And, beyond the criminals often associated with this reality, this could visibly interest certain government authorities, such as the FBI.

Indeed, a recent note included in the latest report from the Inspector General of the American Department of Justice for the month of October on the supervision of the use of confidential human sources by the FBI (Attorney General guidelines for FBI confidential sources) questions the use of crypto to pay its informants.

🔍 Discover our top 10 best cryptocurrency exchange platforms

A use included in the paragraph which concerns more precisely an “evolution of payment strategies” to recruit, validate, direct and remunerate these people essential to investigations carried out by law enforcement.

Because although the report mentions that payments of this type are historically made in cash, “FBI staff members have noted that alternative payment methods, such as cryptocurrency, could be an effective way to compensate informants”.

A possibility which remains visibly complicated to implement, since according to the terms of the report it is not currently considered in the guidelines applicable to confidential human sources of the FBI, except in certain cases presented as “exceptional”.

As a result, the payment of informants using transfers and other digital solutions such as cryptocurrencies does not currently benefit from any real control procedure.

⚠️ How to secure your digital and financial environment?

This is why their use must be studied by the Department of Justice, in order to measure their advantages and possible weaknesses, but also the risks of misuse and endangering the “operational integrity” of FBI missions that this could imply.

In the context of digital payments involving a commercial bank, the report questions the risk that the presence of this third party could represent within a sensitive government operation. Indeed, this implies traceability and possible access to the recipient's data, but also an obligation to report and disclose to financial authorities.

Would cryptocurrencies be the best possible digital solution? Certainly not in the case of using a centralized platform to receive payment, as they may involve obligations (such as the identification of their users) and issues quite similar to the commercial banks mentioned above.

Machine-translated from French