Public-Private Partnerships Necessary in Investigating Crypto Crimes: Former IRS Agent and Lead Investigator at Merkle Science

cryptonews.com:

In an exclusive interview with CryptoNews, former IRS agent Richard Reinhardt, now serving as the lead investigator at Merkle Science, talked about growing challenges in investigating crypto-related crimes and the need for public-private partnerships.

With over two decades of experience in investigating money laundering cases at IRS, Reinhardt, shed light on the challenges faced by investigators, the evolving nature of crypto-related frauds, and the crucial need for public-private partnerships to combat illicit activities in the decentralized world. Highlighting the innovative tactics used by criminals, he emphasized the necessity for investigators to stay ahead in the game.

Reinhardt shared his experiences from the early days of crypto investigations, tracing the shift from traditional money laundering to the rise of crypto-related scams. He also headed the investigation into one of the biggest crypto ponzi schemes – OneCoin. Additionally, he also investigated the first ever NFT rug pull and several other crypto-related crimes.

Discussing the global scenario, Reinhardt draws attention to the challenges faced by law enforcement agencies globally. He elaborated on the surge in peer-to-peer transactions and the regulatory gaps that allow these activities to thrive. He also touched upon the difficulties in enforcing regulations on peer-to-peer exchanges and the covert techniques employed to identify and penetrate illicit actors. Talking about investigating P2P related scams, Rich said:

“We use a lot of covert techniques to identify those people and then penetrate them. You could say it is the Wild West because there’s a lot of anonymity there. Where a lot of people sending cash by mail, meeting in person. That’s about the only