Ian McGinley Quoted by American Banker on Increase in Cryptocurrency-Related Suspicious Activity Reports

For its article “Crypto suspicious activity reports are climbing. Here’s why.,” American Banker quoted Akin Gump white collar defense and government investigations partner Ian McGinley on the increase in suspicious activity reports, or SARs, registered by the federal Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN.

McGinley, who served for more than a decade as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he was Co-Chief of the Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit, said that the growth in cryptocurrency-related SARs indicates an improvement in institutions’ ability to spot suspicious activity.

He said, “I see it in general as a sign that crypto is coming within the fold of traditional finance, and you’ll see the increase in these reports as a kind of function of that.”

He added that there has been an increase in cryptocurrency exchanges and in the number of exchanges required to report suspicious activity to FinCEN. The growth of cryptocurrency has created more opportunities for criminal activity, said McGinley.

“Some of it probably has to do with how mainstream cryptocurrency has become and how many institutions deal with it, including institutions that might have reporting obligations, and also just how many members of the public now touch cryptocurrency,” he said, adding that exchanges and other players in the marketplace have greatly increased their regulatory functions.