Jarek Jakubcek, the head of Law Enforcement Training at the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, stated that his team assists law enforcement agencies in investigating cybercrimes involving cryptocurrencies. Jakubcek shared this information in a July 11 post on Binance's website.
"Most investigations of cryptocurrencies combine both traditional investigation techniques including IP tracing and open-source investigations with the information derived from following fund flows in the blockchain," said Jakubcek, according to Binance. "For the most serious offenses, we often provide hands-on investigation assistance – something that smaller exchanges would not be able to afford."
According to Binance, although only a small percentage of cryptocurrency transactions are linked to "illicit activity," as crypto usage continues to grow, criminal actors seek to "abuse the ecosystem." The company noted that blockchain expertise and commercial tools are typically necessary to combat cybercrimes involving cryptocurrencies. Binance employs its "industry-leading" Law Enforcement Training Program to share knowledge and resources with law enforcement agencies, aiming to bridge the expertise gap that emerges as new types of crime evolve in the digital finance space.
The blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis released its annual report on crime in the crypto ecosystem in January. The report found that the total value of cryptocurrency transactions sent to illicit addresses decreased from $39.6 billion in 2022 to $24.2 billion in 2023. The Chainalysis team said in the report that the percentage of total on-chain cryptocurrency transactions tied to illicit activity also decreased from an estimated 0.42% in 2022 to 0.34% in 2023.
Binance has a team of approximately 30 investigators who previously worked in law enforcement and have expertise in cybercrime, according to the post. "The depth of our team’s experience and the resources we allocate to this cause enable Binance to offer assistance ranging from basic investigation support and case advisory to facilitating cooperation among cross-border law enforcement agencies," Binance said in the post. The company's Law Enforcement Training Program led more than 120 in-person and virtual training sessions last year.
Jakubcek joined Binance in 2022, according to LinkedIn. He previously worked as a strategy analyst for Europol for seven years. His other previous roles include serving as a crime analyst for An Garda Siochana and as a European analyst for AOL.