Criminals in Italy and Germany are increasingly making use of cryptocurrencies, according to the customs directorate in Bonn.
“The use of cryptocurrencies for online payment in the context of criminal offences is clearly on the rise,’’ the directorate said in a statement.
According to investigators’ findings, in most cases the perpetrators use Bitcoin and the currency Monero.
Cryptocurrency is a digital payment system that doesn’t rely on banks to verify transactions.
Instead of being physical money that is carried around and exchanged in the real world, cryptocurrency payments exist purely as digital entries to an online database that describe specific transactions.
Cryptocurrencies were used in the context of criminal offences to completely anonymise ordering and shipping procedures for illicit products or services.
In Italy, organised crime had also discovered cryptocurrencies in recent years.
For mafia organisations, anonymity and quick transactions were advantages, which is why they use these payment methods, according to the Italian DIA anti-mafia police.
Mafiosi, especially, use digital currencies in drug trafficking.
Neither German nor Italian police authorities provided precise information about operations, sums or damage.
