Share this article
Australian Federal Police Forms Cryptocurrency Unit to Tackle Money Laundering, Offshoring: Report
The unit was set up after the force's criminal asset confiscation command had seized more than $600 million from the proceeds of crime since its inception in February 2020.
Updated May 11, 2023, 3:41 p.m. Published Sep 5, 2022, 3:45 p.m.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) formed a unit to tackle the use of cryptocurrency as a means of money laundering and offshoring, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) reported Monday.
The unit was set up after the force's criminal asset confiscation command beat its 2024 target of seizing $600 million from the proceeds of crime by two years. The command was formed in February 2020.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Stefan Jerga, who heads the new unit, said the use of crypto in crime had increased significantly in recent years, and now required a standalone team.
“It’s targeting assets, but it’s also providing that valuable, investigative tracing capability and lens for all of our commands across all of our businesses, whether they’re national security-related, child protection, cyber – or the ability to trace cryptocurrency transactions across the relevant blockchains is really, really important," Jerga said, according to the report.
AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw said that while the amount of cryptocurrency seized was small relative to cash and property, a focus on crypto provided benefits through great intelligence insights into the business models of organized crime.
Read more: Australian CBDC Research Project Could Provide Crypto Clarity, Legal Expert Says
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Small Texas Lender Monet Joining Field of Crypto-Focused Banks
The bank is owned by billionaire Andy Beal, a major supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign.
Top Stories
