The United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) is taking measures to increase its focus on cryptocurrency crimes and combat criminals.
NCA’s cyber-focused command, the National Cyber Crime Unit (NCCU), is launching a dedicated cryptocurrency unit to investigate U.K. cyber incidents involving the use of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC).
Called “NCCU Crypto Cell,” the crypto-focused unit will initially contain five officers dedicated to “proactive cryptocurrency remit.”
“This is a really exciting opportunity which involves working in a team at the forefront of protecting the U.K. from cyber crime,” NCA infrastructure investigations director Chris Lewis-Evans told Cointelegraph. He added:
“Cryptocurrency and virtual assets are widely viewed as specialist areas of knowledge, and this role is key to supporting NCA investigations in which these are used to enable serious criminality.”
As part of the project, NCA is seeking to hire a cryptocurrency investigator with good knowledge of crypto and strong experience in conducting blockchain forensic investigations on serious and organized crime.
NCA’s upcoming crypto crime fighter will be required to provide strategic and tactical advice to investigators in dealing with cases involving crypto, supporting both existing and new investigations. The position requires experience in identifying and recovering seed phrases alongside advanced tracing through blockchains.
The position offers an annual salary between 40,200 British pounds ($48,200) and 43,705 pounds ($52,400). Candidates are invited to apply before Jan. 10, 2023.
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NCA’s move aims to increase regulatory focus on crypto assets in the U.K. amid the government’s call to eliminate “dirty money” in the country. In September 2022, the U.K. government introduced a bill aiming to crack down on money laundering and fraud, particularly through expanding authorities’ ability to seize crypto used for illicit purposes.
According to National Police Chiefs’ Council detective chief superintendent Andy Gould, all police forces in the U.K. had all officers trained for investigations involving the seizure of and enforcement of crypto as of October 2022.