Author: Marie Huillet Translated by: Ina
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice seized the classified ad website Backpage.com. According to a press release issued by the Department of Justice on April 9, the site laundered $500 million, in part through cryptocurrencies.
The FBI, IRS and other agencies have sued the site in a joint operation, saying Backpage "has made more than $500 million in prostitution-related revenue since its inception." John D. Fort, head of the IRS's Criminal Investigation Division, called the defendants "manipulators", noting that the defendants "enforced egregious financial crimes such as money laundering by harming women and children, and exploited virtual currencies and the anonymity of the Internet. cover up the crime".
Chief Postal Prosecutor Guy Cottrell said: "Backpage perpetuates the exploitation of victims and continues to finance its business through money laundering."
The indictment clearly states that the defendants received payments from customers through cryptocurrency exchanges in order to conceal their wrongdoing and evade legal sanctions. But what the indictment doesn't make clear is that the use of cryptocurrencies also includes sex workers using the site, not just the defendants.
In 2015, Visa and Mastercard stopped processing Backpage transactions for "ethical, social and legal" reasons. Bitcoin became one of the few payment methods available. A person familiar with the matter said that while altcoins “look scary,” they are becoming the only way for the online industry to “maintain security and success.” After Backpage's Visa account was shut down, a Reddit post published a "Bitcoin Training Manual for the Sex Industry." This wave of new cryptocurrency users has been dubbed the "Backpage effect" by Bitcoin advocacy groups on Reddit.
Legal departments around the world are working hard to set a precedent for dealing with such cases of cryptocurrencies. According to the head of Europol, as much as $5.5 billion is laundered through cryptocurrencies every year.
This article only represents the author's personal opinion, does not represent the position of the blockchain pencil, does not constitute investment advice, and the content is for reference only.
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