Police need powers to tackle virtual money laundering: Europol

The head of the European Union's policing agency warned on Monday that virtual currencies such as Bitcoin were being used for money laundering and called for police to be given more powers to identify criminal suspects operating on the Internet. Financial and law enforcement authorities have previously warned of the security risk posed by virtual currencies, which use encryption systems to reliably process transactions while being difficult for authorities to trace. "We're seeing that virtual currencies are being used as an instrument to facilitate crime, particularly in regard to the laundering of illicit profits," said Europol head Rob Wainwright, speaking on the margins of a nuclear security conference in The Hague. Ross Ulbricht, its alleged founder, also faces money laundering charges.

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