Treasury: DeFi services vulnerable to AML/CFT, cybersecurity risks

A new U.S. Treasury report concluded that decentralized finance (DeFi) services are being used by bad actors to launder the proceeds of illegal activity, aided by crypto platforms weak or non-existent in anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance programs.

“The assessment finds that illicit actors, including ransomware cybercriminals, thieves, scammers, and [North Korea-based] cyber actors, are using DeFi services in the process of transferring and laundering their illicit proceeds,” said the report, issued Thursday.

Bad actors accomplish these illicit transfers by exploiting vulnerabilities in U.S. and foreign anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regulatory, supervisory, and enforcement regimes, as well as cybersecurity vulnerabilities that leave the platforms open to theft of digital assets, the report said.