The United States Department of Justice (DoJ)has announced a major restructuring initiative aimed at enhancing its ability to handle the surging caseload within its Criminal Division. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri revealed this during her speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on July 20, 2023.
In her speech, Argentieri disclosed the merger of two key teams within the DoJ’s Criminal Division: the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET).
Under the restructuring plan, the NCET will be integrated into CCIPS, while retaining its focus on investigating and prosecuting criminal offenses related to cryptocurrency misuse.
Highlighting the NCET’s previous success as a startup, Argentieri expressed confidence that the merger with CCIPS would provide the team with the necessary resources and support to achieve even greater accomplishments.
Argentieri stated during her speech:
“It’s now time to bring NCET to the next level. NCET has been an enormously successful startup. Merging it into CCIPS will give it the resources and runway to accomplish even more.”
One of the most significant implications of this restructuring is the substantial increase in the number of Criminal Division attorneys dedicated to handling cryptocurrency-related cases.
This move could potentially lead to more than a doubling of the workforce dedicated to such matters, as any CCIPS attorney may now be assigned to work on an NCET case. Additionally, NCET will gain access to computer crime and intellectual property-related work, further enhancing its capabilities.
Claudia Quiroz, a former Assistant United States Attorney from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of California, will step up as the acting director of NCET, replacing the current director, Eun Young Choi. Meanwhile, Choi will be transitioning to a new position within the Justice Department.
The NCET was established in 2021 by the Justice Department to address growing concerns about the potential misuse of digital assets by criminals and terrorists to launder illicit funds.
Given the recent downturn in the cryptocurrency industry and the collapse of the FTX, the team’s importance has only grown. Over the years, NCET has been actively involved in prosecuting cases related to cryptocurrencies, including notable instances such as prosecuting the founder of Bitzlato and assisting in the investigation of Binance.
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