Kestutis Jucevicius, the head of the Lithuanian Financial Crime Investigation Service (FNTT), has cautioned the nation on bitcoin in relation to the work FNTT is doing to explore and prevent crime uses of digital currency.

Speaking at a press-conference, Jucevicius highlighted the fact that bitcoin is used as a tool for arms and drugs trafficking, kidnapping, as well as the means of financing terrorism. He noted that, according to FNTT research, Lithuanian citizens have spent over 20 million euros in bitcoins purchasing things illegally on the Internet and funding terrorist groups.

FNTT works in collaboration with FIOD, an international organisation founded by Dutch Tax and Customs Service, to trace crimes committed using digital currency plus anonymisation tools such as Tor and other "Dark Web" platforms. It also plans to develop and use advanced blockchain analysis tools, though no concrete information about the software is yet available.

Earlier Alexander Bastrykin, the Russian counterpart of Kestutis Jucevicius, expressed same cautions in his interview to RG. Last autumn, after Paris attacks, bitcoin digital currency went under harsh criticism by many governments for its alleged anonymity and its easiness to use by criminals, but de-facto these allegations were not well-grounded, as bitcoin is far from being truly untraceable and is even viewed by some as more transparent a means of exchange than actual cash.


Maria Rudina