The U.S. Internal Revenue Service seized $ 3.5 billion in cryptocurrency during fiscal 2021, a figure that accounted for 93 percent of all assets seized by taxation that year, according to an IRS report released Thursday. .
By Bloomberg
Published in November 18, 2021
The Internal Revenue Service could seize billions of dollars worth of cryptocurrencies that are linked to tax fraud and other crimes in the coming year, according to a key agency official.
The IRS seized $ 3.5 billion in cryptocurrency during fiscal 2021, a figure that accounted for 93% of all assets seized by the tax application that year, according to an annual IRS criminal investigation report released Thursday.
"I expect the trend of crypto seizures to continue as we move into fiscal year 22," said IRS chief criminal investigation Jim Lee in a call with reporters. "We are seeing cryptocurrencies being involved in a number of our crimes as we move forward."
Last year, the IRS criminal unit seized billions of dollars in Bitcoin and other virtual currencies, including $ 1 billion stolen from Silk Road, an online Bitcoin exchange that closed in 2013. The unit also prosecuted a Former Microsoft Corp. software developer who used cryptocurrencies to hide $ 10 million he embezzled from the company.
Congress recently granted the IRS more ability to monitor cryptocurrency transactions in the infrastructure package that President Joe Biden signed into law on Monday. That law will require crypto brokers to track and report transactions to the IRS in an effort to give tax authorities more visibility into virtual currency operations.
The agency could also benefit from an additional $ 80 billion in funding that Democrats are proposing in Biden's Build Back Better plan, which could get a House vote on Thursday. Lee said money is desperately needed in his unit to hire more than 250 to 300 more special agents, as well as to invest in systems to identify and track cybercrime.
