Certain Aspects of the Analysis of Cryptocurrency Transactions during the Prevention and Investigation of Crimes

This study investigated the criminal liability for illegal acquisition of cryptocurrency in Ukraine, which is relevant in connection with the considerable spread of cryptocurrencies and cases of their illegal acquisition, as a result of which significant material damage is caused to the victims. Specifically, this is explained by the collapse of cryptocurrency exchanges and hacker attacks on cryptocurrency wallets. The purpose of this study was to investigate what criminal liability is prescribed for illegal possession of cryptocurrency in Ukraine. The study employed a dialectical approach and methods of system and technical and legal analysis, as well as a formal and logical method. Approaches to understanding the term “cryptocurrency” were defined, and its types were specified. The features of the functioning of blockchain technology were covered. This paper analysed the legal regulation of virtual assets in Ukraine, their relationship with cryptocurrency. It is noted that at its core, cryptocurrency is not a virtual asset and that it is advisable to consider it an electronic asset based on the blockchain – a decentralized public register of all cryptocurrency transactions conducted on the network. Shortcomings in the legal regulation of cryptocurrencies in Ukraine were highlighted, specifically, it was noted that the signs of virtual assets do not fully coincide with the signs of cryptocurrencies. The most common ways of illegal possession of cryptocurrency were specified, and problematic issues of bringing individuals who have come into illegal possession of cryptocurrency to criminal responsibility were outlined. This paper substantiated the impossibility of bringing individuals who have come into illegal possession of cryptocurrency to criminal responsibility in Ukraine, considering the principle of legal certainty and avoiding analogy in criminal law. The necessity of criminalizing illegal possession of cryptocurrency was proved. Practical recommendations on making appropriate amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine were formulated. The theoretical value of this study lies in the formation of an approach to the need to criminalize the illegal possession of cryptocurrencies, and its results can be used in law-making activities.

show abstract

Analysis of Ethereum transactions during the prevention and investigation of criminal offenses

Nosov

Manzhai

Panchenko³

2022

Pravo bezpeka

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The mechanism of Ethereum transactions analysis during the prevention and investigation of criminal offenses based on the study of modern experience in this area has been proposed. The directions of cryptocurrency use by offenders have been revealed. The relationship between the decrease of the cash market and the increase in the use of cryptocurrencies has been described. The state of legal regulation of cryptocurrencies in Ukraine has been studied. The insufficient regulation of the issue of handling cryptocurrencies in criminal proceedings has been emphasized. The issue of impossibility to seize cryptocurrency assets during criminal investigation has been raised. The problematic issues faced by law enforcement agencies in other countries when seizing cryptocurrencies have been outlined. The structure and peculiarities of the cryptocurrency Ethereum circulation have been revealed. The features of the Ethereum platform and its distinctive features have been studied. The key standards that characterize the work of the Ethereum platform have been analyzed, explanations of key terms have been provided. The essential data in the blockchain for analysis have been highlighted, the procedure for accessing the Ethereum blockchain transactions has been described. Various web resources which one can access the Ethereum transaction blockchain through have been provided. The purpose of email mixing, the conditions under which the anonymity of the email address is lost have been revealed. Some software tools used to analyze ethereum transactions have been evaluated by experiment. Automation of searching and building a schema of relations of different identifiers of e-transactions on the example of Maltego Community Edition and Crystal Expert have been demonstrated. Additional modules that need to be installed in Maltego Community Edition to analyze the relevant transactions effectively have been described. It has been emphasized that when analyzing ethereum transactions, it is necessary to use not only ready-made tools, but also various scientific methods, such as identifying key criminal groups and wallets, identifying cases of money laundering using cryptocurrencies, additional address profiling, prevention of illegal behavior on the trading ethereum platform. The importance of effective analysis of cryptocurrencies for investigation has been described. The effectiveness of the Crystal Blockchain platform as a tool for analyzing Ethereum transactions in criminal investigations has been evaluated. The technical side of law enforcement training on the seizure of cryptocurrency assets has been revealed. For this purpose, it is recommended to use the so-called test networks. The mechanism of controlled transfer of cryptocurrency assets for custodial and non-custodial wallets has been proposed.

show abstract

Certain Aspects of the Analysis of Cryptocurrency Transactions during the Prevention and Investigation of Crimes

Cited by 5 publications

References 9 publications

Decrypting Criminal Transaction Patterns in Cryptocurrency

Decrypting Criminal Transaction Patterns in Cryptocurrency

Criminal liability for illegal possession of cryptocurrency in Ukraine

Analysis of Ethereum transactions during the prevention and investigation of criminal offenses

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About