The evolution of cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies continues to transform organised crime, cybercrime, and financial crime. This panel brings together researchers exploring emerging trends in cryptocurrency and financial crimes. Key topics in presentations will include: the emerging illicit and grey economies on digital platforms, opportunities for cryptocurrency financial crime in virtual reality and ‘metaverse’ environments, the use of cryptocurrency in ‘pig-butchering’ scam operations, and cryptocurrency use in transnational crime syndicates operating between China and Southeast Asia. In these discussions the panel aims to illuminate new trends and dynamics between cryptocurrency and financial crime to offer insights into future challenges and potential regulatory responses.

Leo S.F. Lin,Senior Lecturer, Charles Sturt University, Australia. Reseraching cybercrime, organised crime, human trafficking and policing

Hai Thanh Luong, Griffith University / Institute for Asian Crime and Security. Transnational Crimes (focusing on drug trafficking, human trafficking, migrant smuggling, and wildlife trafficking), cyber criminology (focus on human factors in cybercrime), and policing.

Dr Andrew Childs, Lecturer, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith University

Dr. Andrew Childs is a Lecturer in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. He explores emerging technologies and cybercrime communities.

Dr Milind Tiwari, Charles Sturt University. A certified fraud examiner and anti-money laundering specialist with a keen interest in uncovering the diverse mechanisms used to facilitate money laundering.

Takeaways:

• The advent of cryptocurrencies has introduced new dimensions to organized crime, particularly in the realms of fraud and money laundering.
• Cryptocurrency's anonymity and lack of regulation are attractive features for criminals seeking to exploit financial systems.
• Emerging digital technologies, including the Metaverse, present unique challenges for law enforcement in combating financial crimes.
• The evolution of online scams, such as 'pig butchering', demonstrates the increasingly sophisticated methods employed by perpetrators in cryptocurrency crimes.