REUTERS / Florence Lo / Illustration / File Photo
- The UK's main financial watchdog is looking for a contractor to train staff on how to detect the use of cryptocurrencies in terrorist financing.
- The Financial Conduct Authority has a contract of ยฃ 500,000 ($ 667,0000) to engage the services of an external specialist.
- The UK and the US have agreed to intensify cooperation in the face of cybercrime threats.
The UK financial regulator is looking to hire a contractor to train its staff to detect the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing through crypto assets.
The Financial Conduct Authority will pay an outside company for its services under a contract of ยฃ 500,000 ($ 667,000), as per a public notice, with the call for a contractor to remain open until December 16.
The contractor must "provide access to a platform that can support robust and efficient analysis of crypto asset blockchain data and provide ongoing training and support in the use of this platform," the agency said.
The notification was released last week, as was a statement from the US Department of Justice saying that the UK and the US will work more closely to combat terrorism and cybercrime.
"Both the Deputy Attorney General and the Secretary of the Interior pledged and agreed to increase the focus on the illicit use of cryptocurrencies and ransomware, as well as to continue the dialogue on emerging threats to national security," said the US Department of Justice, referring to the Deputy Attorney General of the United States, Lisa Monaco, and the Secretary of the Interior of the United Kingdom, Priti Patel.
In a case involving the risks of cryptocurrencies in terrorism, it was reported that a 28-year-old sales consultant in Britain was sentenced to 12 years in prison in September after being convicted of using bitcoin to finance the Islamic State terror group in Syria.
The FCA earlier this year said that a significantly large number of Cryptocurrency companies did not meet the required anti-money laundering standards., which leaves them short on protection against crime.
