In this episode, former FBI agent Ren McEachern breaks down financial crime and fraud in the digital age. We cover how criminals use different monetary tools for money laundering, whether the FBI can reverse wire transfers, and their work on the dark web. Ren explains asset seizures, including high-value items like yachts, and the unique challenges of seizing and liquidating bitcoin. We also discuss the FBI’s evolving stance on bitcoin, tracing crypto transactions, and using off-chain data to prevent fraud. Lastly, we tackle the potentially fraudulent NFT market, and Ren shares what he sees as the biggest risk to bitcoin today.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST:
→ Subscribe
→ Leave a review
→ Share the show with your friends and family
→ Send us an email podcast@unchained.com
TIMESTAMPS:
01:30 Introduction and Background
06:00 Most common monetary tool used in money laundering?
09:08 Can the FBI reverse wire transfers?
12:48 FBI and the dark web
15:12 Brazil banning X.com
17:15 Seizing assets and chasing yachts
21:55 Liquidating seized assets and yachts
24:00 The difficulty of seizing bitcoin
29:00 Government seizure of bitcoin and liquidation
37:00 Trump’s strategic bitcoin stockpile
40:00 The FBI's perspective on bitcoin
50:10 Future of fraud with bitcoin and crypto?
01:01:25 Is the NFT market just money laundering?
01:04:30 Most commonly used crypto for fraud?
WHERE TO FOLLOW US:
→ Unchained Twitter: https://twitter.com/unchainedcom
→ Unchained LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/unchainedcom
→ Unchained Newsletter: https://unchained.com/newsletter
→ Joe Burnett’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/IIICapital
→ Ren McEachern’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-ren-mceachern