The Surprising Way the IRS is Helping Ukraine Fight Russian Corruption

Oligarchs can’t hide from this weapon

Ric Edelman: It's Thursday, August 3rd. You know, a couple of days ago I've been lamenting that we don't know what to call blockchain because the name itself isn't really very good. But whether or not I know what we're calling it, guess who's using it? The IRS.

The IRS Criminal Investigation Division is now helping Ukrainian investigators. They're trying to identify Russian oligarchs who are using crypto to evade economic sanctions and defined those oligarchs. The IRS is giving the Ukrainian investigators blockchain analysis tools and providing the Ukrainians with training on how to use those tools. We've got 50 Ukrainian law enforcement officers getting that training.

Jim Lee, the chief of the IRS Criminal Investigation Unit, says the training will help the Ukrainians unmask crypto transactions with cryptocurrency forensic tools, safeguarding not only the US financial system, but the global economy. Evidence shows that Russia is not using crypto in a big way in its war effort. But some Russian oligarchs might be. They might be using crypto to circumvent the sanctions. They won't succeed because unlike cash and gold and diamonds, crypto is digital, and digital money leaves a digital footprint. Transactions are easy to trace, and the IRS has the analytic tools to do exactly that.

Who says the government hates crypto for sure? Not government Law enforcement, including the IRS Criminal Investigation Division.

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