Warren and Cassidy have now issued an ultimatum of June 14 for the agencies to respond to their query.
United States Senator Elizabeth Warren is keen to have drug agencies report their findings on how crypto is being used to run the underground fentanyl market. This follows after she put forward a letter, co-written by Senator William Cassidy, asking to know how far the current administration has gone in uncovering the extent of crypto’s involvement in the illicit business. An excerpt from the letter reads:
“[We] seek an update on the Biden Administration’s actions to crack down on drug traffickers’ exploitation of crypto to grow their business and launder their ill-gotten gains.”
The letter was addressed to the Office of National Drug Control Policy through the director Rahul Gupta. It was also addressed to the Drug Enforcement Administration through administrator Anne Melissa Milgram. According to the letter, the two senators stand on their long-standing belief that cryptocurrencies continue to be used to facilitate the fentanyl trade. They also believe that the majority of this dark web drug ends up being consumed by residents of the United States.
Warren and Cassidy have now issued an ultimatum of June 14 for the agencies to respond to their query. Their request comes in about four-folds. First, they want to know how significant a role these agencies think cryptocurrency plays in drug trafficking. Then they ask that the agencies share what strategies and initiatives they plan to implement over the next 12 months. They also want to know what metrics will be used to determine if their efforts to curb the use of crypto in the fentanyl trade are successful or not. Lastly, they would like the agencies to share their challenges, if any, in combating this worrisome use of crypto in illegal drug transactions.
Senator Warren Cites ‘Unrelated’ Investigation Findings
To buttress their point, the Senators cited what might appear as an unrelated May 2023 investigation result. The investigation, at the time, detailed how about 80 Chinese companies known to supply fentanyl precursors received crypto payments worth around $30 million. They wrote:
“[This is] enough to purchase the necessary precursors to produce a staggering $54 billion worth of fentanyl pills.”
While the quoted figures are worth consideration, it might be worth noting that Warren has once been called out for what may be an unwarranted hate for crypto. Warren had cited a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report on Hamas, overbloating the extent of Hamas’ crypto use for terrorism funding in the Israel-Palestine war.
Despite the WSJ’s attempt to correct her wrong interpretation, however, Senator Warren did not recount her statement.
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