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The purpose of this paper is to determine if Bitcoin transactions could be de-anonymised by analysing the Bitcoin blockchain and transactions conducted through the blockchain. In addition, graph analysis and the use of modern social media technology were examined to determine how they may help reveal the identity of Bitcoin users. A review of machine learning techniques and heuristics was carried out to learn how certain behaviours from the Bitcoin network could be augmented with social media technology and other data to identify illicit transactions.

A number of experiments were conducted and time was spend observing the network to ascertain how Bitcoin transactions work, how the Bitcoin protocol operates over the network and what Bitcoin artefacts can be examined from a digital forensics perspective. Packet sniffing software, Wireshark, was used to see whether the identity of a user is revealed when they set up a wallet via an online wallet service. In addition, a block parser was used to analyse the Bitcoin client synchronisation and reveal information on the behaviour of a Bitcoin node when it joins the network and synchronises to the latest blockchain. The final experiment involved setting up and witnessing a transaction using the Bitcoin Client API. These experiments and observations were then used to design a proof of concept and functional software architecture for searching, indexing and analyzing publicly available data flowing from the blockchain and other big data sources.

Using heuristics and graph analysis techniques show us that it is possible to build up a picture of behaviour of Bitcoin addresses and transactions, then utilise existing typologies of illicit behaviour to collect, process and exploit potential red flag indicators. Augmenting Bitcoin data, big data and social media may be used to reveal potentially illicit financial transaction going through the Bitcoin blockchain and machine learning applied to the data sets to rank and cluster suspicious transactions.

The development of a functional software architecture that, in theory, could be used to detect suspicious illicit transactions on the Bitcoin network.

The purpose of this paper is to critically analyse research surrounding the anonymity of online transactions using Bitcoin and report on the feasibility of law enforcement bodies tracing illicit transactions back to a user’s real-life identity.

The design of this paper follows on from the approach taken by Reid and Harrigan (2013) in determining whether identifying information may be collated with external sources of data to identify individual users. In addition to conducting a detailed literature review surrounding the anonymity of users, and the potential ability to track transactions through the blockchain, four Bitcoin exchange services are examined to ascertain whether information provided at the sign-up stage is sufficiently verified and reliable. By doing so, this research tests the ability for law enforcement to reasonably rely upon this information when attempting to prosecute individuals. Additionally, by submitting fake information for verification, the plausibility of these services accepting fraudulent or illegitimate information is also tested.

It may be possible to identify and prosecute bad actors through the analysis of transaction histories by tracing them back to an interaction with a Bitcoin exchange. However, the compliance and implementation of anti-money laundering legislation and customer identification security standards are insufficiently used within some exchange services, resulting in more technologically adept, or well-funded, criminals being able to circumvent identification controls and continue to transact without revealing their identities. The introduction of and compliance with know-your customer and customer due diligence legislation is required before law enforcement bodies may be able to accurately rely on information provided to a Bitcoin exchange. This paper highlights the need for research to be undertaken to examine the ways in which criminals are circumventing identity controls and, consequently, financing their illicit activities.

By ascertaining the types of information submitted by users when exchanging real currency for virtual currency, and seeing whether this information may be accepted despite being fraudulent in nature, this paper elucidates the reliability of information that law enforcement bodies may be able to access when tracing transactions back to an individual actor.

This study aims to explore how to deanonymize cryptocurrency money launderers with the help of machine learning (ML). Money is laundered through cryptocurrencies by distributing funds to multiple accounts and then reexchanging the crypto back. This process of exchanging currencies is done through cryptocurrency exchanges. Current preventive efforts are outdated, and ML may provide novel ways to identify illicit currency movements. Hence, this study investigates ML applicability for combatting money laundering activities using cryptocurrency.

Four supervised-learning algorithms were compared using the Bitcoin Elliptic Dataset. The method covered a quantitative analysis of the algorithmic performance, capturing differences in three key evaluation metrics of F1-scores, precision and recall. Two complementary qualitative interviews were performed at cryptocurrency exchanges to identify fit and applicability of the algorithms.

The study results show that the current implemented ML tools for preventing money laundering at cryptocurrency exchanges are all too slow and need to be optimized for the task. The results also show that while not one single algorithm is most suitable for detecting transactions related to money-laundering, the specific applicability of the decision tree algorithm is most suitable for adoption by cryptocurrency exchanges.

Given the growth of cryptocurrency use, this study explores the newly developed field of algorithmic tools to combat illicit currency movement, in particular in the growing arena of cryptocurrencies. The study results provide new insights into the applicability of ML as a tool to combat money laundering using cryptocurrency exchanges.

This paper aims to focus on the need for an enhanced anti-money laundering (AML) regulation for decentralised finance (DeFi) to protect the integrity of global financial systems against illicit activities. Research highlights the requirement for a robust regulatory strategy for the fast-paced DeFi evolvement.

This study used doctrinal legal research by analysing legislation, which involved creating use cases to illustrate different aspects of potential illicit activities via the DeFi ecosystem. Various DeFi applications were assessed for the potential regulatory responses and outcomes.

This paper offers valuable insight into the regulatory challenges presented by DeFi. This study addresses the blind spots leveraged by criminals afforded by the DeFi’s decentralised nature. This paper offers a comprehensive examination of DeFi regulatory challenges based on use-case scenarios and provides recommendations for regulators on how to address them effectively.

This paper proposes measures for regulatory authorities to minimise money laundering risks through new channels such as decentralised exchanges, non-custodial wallets and cross-chain bridges. This study concludes with the future directions for DeFi regulation and AML compliance.

The purpose of this paper is to review studies focusing on the magnitude of money laundering and their effects on a country’s economy. The relevant concepts are identified on the basis of discussions in the literature by prominent scholars and policy makers. There are three main objectives in this review: first, to discuss the effects of money laundering on a country’s macro-economy; second, to seek measurements from other scholars; and finally, to seek previous findings about the magnitude and the flows of money laundering.

In the first part, this paper outlines the effects of money laundering on macroeconomic conditions of a country, and then the second part reviews the literature that measures the magnitude of money laundering from an economic perspective.

Money laundering affects a country’s economy by increasing shadow economy and criminal activities, illicit flows and impeding tax collection. To minimise these negative effects, it is necessary to quantify the magnitude of money laundering relative to economic conditions to identify the most vulnerable aspects of money laundering in a country. Two approaches are used in this study: the first is the capital flight approach, as money laundering will cause flows of money between countries; the second is the economic approach for measuring money laundering through economic variables (e.g. tax revenue, underground economy and income generated by criminals) separately from tax evasion.

The paper offers new insights for the measurement of money laundering, especially for developing countries. Most methods in quantifying money laundering have focused on developed countries, which are less applicable to developing countries.

The purpose of this paper is to look at current discourse on the topic of crypto-currencies, more specifically Bitcoins, and their application to funding acts of terror. The paper clearly establishes the risks posed by this new payment technology and value transfer system to assist in the process of funding, planning and implementing acts of terror.

Publications, blogs and sites published and administered by terrorists groups and their supporters are examined to determine their interest in leveraging emerging payment and value transfer systems to facilitate the funding, planning and implementation of terror attacks. Press releases and other publications are also examined to determine whether crypto-currencies have been used by these groups in fund raising, fund transfer or recent terror attacks.

Although it is difficult to find concrete evidence of largescale use of Bitcoins and other crypto-currencies by terrorist groups and their supporters, there is strong evidence to suggest that they have been linked to a number of terror attacks in Europe and Indonesia. Supporters of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), jihadists and terrorist organisations are actively looking to and promoting the use of new and emerging technologies, such as Bitcoin, to mitigate some of the risks associated with traditional fund transfer methods. Some websites associated with terrorist organisations have started to collect donations in Bitcoins. Many Bitcoin ATMs and Bitcoin exchanges are located in countries that have seen significant numbers of foreign fighters join ISIS in the Middle East and are also positioned in countries that have seen increased risk of terror attack. These present a significant risk because they allow for the seamless, anonymous transfer of funds to and from terrorist groups and their supporters. The paper highlights the need for further in-depth research into reliable ways to circumvent the current difficulties experienced in differentiating illicit transactions from legitimate ones and establishing reliable means of attribution.

Using a document published by ISIS, which provides would-be jihadists detailed instructions on how they can get to Syria or Iraq without being detected, a set of models were created showing how this could be achieved using Bitcoins alone. From this scenario, red flag indicators and suspicious behaviour models have been created to determine whether they can be identified during detailed analysis of the Bitcoin blockchain which will be conducted in later stages of research.

Since, at least 9/11 financial institutions and financial intermediaries are considered to be at the forefront in the international attempt to halt illicit money transfer. Most financial institutions if involved at all play an unknowing or lax, but major role in dictating money laundering schemes. The purpose of this paper is to argue that to avoid sanctions including criminal liability, financial institutions and financial intermediaries must be better prepared and willing to assess prototypical money laundering typologies. To do otherwise will invite civil and criminal liability.

This paper examines legislative pronouncements in general and US caselaw in particular in order to assess compliance and liability: real or imagined.

There appears to be considerable agreement concerning at least one goal of terrorists attacks and that is to disrupt directly and indirectly economic global stability. Further, those charged with the task of identifying terrorist assets in a financial system and developing a profile of terrorist financial transactions has, at least according to unclassified documents, proved to be futile. Closer international investigation and co‐operation appears to be more a slogan than a reality.

Reviews examples of blatant illegal acts of money laundering within the banking community and examines the exploding real estate market and its transmigration into the world of laundering illicit money.

The purpose of this paper is to show how global regulation of cryptocurrencies and other cybercurrencies can assist in addressing the challenges of attribution when investigating ransomware attacks and other types of cybercrime using these payment methods.

A literature review, looking at current academic research and discourse on the topic cryptocurrency regulation, is conducted to highlight current thinking and perceived difficulties in implanting a global regulatory framework. In addition, the research explores how governments have addressed the risks posed by cryptocurrencies and how regulation has been implemented. The research focuses on the regulatory approaches of Australia, Europe and the Americas to determine whether they could feasibly address the risks posed by cryptocurrencies and be implemented on a global scale.

To date, few sustained efforts have been made to regulate Bitcoin or other cybercurrencies. Where regulation has been introduced, it has often proven too costly to implement, thereby, stifling Bitcoin industry growth, or too ad hoc to function effectively. These regulatory pitfalls are substantiated by the continuing difficulty faced by law enforcement agencies, in identifying individual Bitcoin users and separating those that are using them for nefarious purposes from those that are using them for legitimate ones. These challenges appear to grow exponentially when it comes to prosecuting criminals for Bitcoin-related offences, due to the enormous lack of agreement within the justice system of most countries as to the appropriate legal definition for Bitcoin. This research highlights three characteristics that will be vital to the success of any global regulatory framework. These are consistency, clarity and cost-effective implementation. A regulatory framework for Bitcoin that lacks any one of these elements will fail to meet the requirements of every stakeholder in the regulatory process. A framework that is too costly to implement will stifle fintech innovation, subsequently depriving national economies of the multitude of potential benefits promised by fostering fintech entrepreneurship. Equally, a framework that is inconsistent will hamper the global cooperation necessary to combat Bitcoin-related crime.

This research evaluates research, discourse and regulatory responses from academic and governmental sources and discusses how a global response to cryptocurrency regulation will help address the growing problem of attribution when it comes to ransomware attacks, which has experienced a considerable spike in recent months.

Money laundering weakens the role of the construction industry in stimulating economic growth. The purpose of this paper is to explore the connection between money laundering on the construction sites and undocumented foreign workers, based on a narrative drawn from a qualitative research.

Throughout the study, qualitative methods, i.e. interviews, site visits and document analysis, were used. However, the data for this paper was primarily derived from an interview. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.

The findings show that construction personnel who have access to the business’s financial affairs are the most likely to engage in illicit transactions. The size of the project as well as the multiple layers of organisations involved made it easy for launderers to operate. The appealing commission provided incentives to opportunistic personnel. In this regard, the wages for undocumented workers, which were primarily paid in cash, provided a considerable opportunity for the subcontracting organisations to engage in money laundering.

While the single narrative method with an omniscient narrator allows for the conceptualisation of a human experience with money laundering, the depth of information and interpretations is limited. Emerging qualitative research methods may be incorporated in the future to provide a more extensive information due to the fact that money laundering data is complex and sensitive that few people want to discuss.

The multidisciplinary approach of this research provides a pedagogical way that focuses primarily on the disciplines of construction management and business ethics to demonstrate real-world money laundering practice. Understanding such phenomenon on sites opens up key avenues for future research into developing an anti-money laundering regime for the construction industry.

As determined by the Financial Action Task Force, trade‐based money laundering (TBML) has become one of the three major money laundering methods used today. However, there has been very limited acknowledgment of the risk and counter‐measures against TBML until recently. This is particularly problematic with ever increasing trade volumes through transshipment and container shipping which is getting larger by the day. This paper aims to examine the role of TBML as a vehicle for terrorism financing and laundering proceeds of other criminal activity. It also examines the practice of transshipment, analyzes the challenges that this particular phenomenon poses to detection of TBML activity, and looks at possible alternative policy responses to mitigate additional money laundering risks.

This paper analyzes reports made by international organizations and government bodies, particularly, the US Government, dealing with various aspects of financial crime, import/export activity, and world trade statistics, in order to identify major challenges and possible solutions to the problem. Interviews were also conducted with the same goals.

Efforts to monitor and staunch the flow of illicit money through trade would be enhanced through more widespread coverage of customs cooperation and standardization of information sharing procedures between national customs agencies. Also, measures should be taken to make free trade areas more transparent to regulatory scrutiny.

This paper serves to expand the limited amount of scholarship on TBML and to suggest a policy approach towards detection of this kind of money laundering activity to policymakers.