Use Cases for Cryptocurrency Investigations & Compliance
Our clients rely on our expertise for a wide range of cryptocurrency investigation and compliance services.
Performing Due Diligence
Using blockchain analytics, we track, trace, and analyze crypto transactions to help law
enforcement, regulators, lawyers, financial institutions, and businesses identify legitimate and
illicit transactions.
Investigating Cryptocurrency Fraud
With blockchain analytics, we track and trace funds to investigate fraud and criminal activity to
help combat cryptocurrency crime and resolve legal disputes.
Screening for Transaction Risks
Using blockchain analytics technology, we screen crypto wallets prior to transactions to help
identify and minimize risk. Many existing crypto wallets have ties to money laundering, illicit
trading, drug smuggling, and even terrorist financing. If organizations are found to be complicit,
even unwillingly, it can bring disastrous consequences.
Identifying High-Risk Customers
Blockchain analytics can assign risk scores to certain wallets, flagging them as risky assets.
When a wallet has been screened and found to have links to other transactions that were
identified as either suspicious or illicit, that wallet is tagged with a risk score. High-risk
customers can be identified by providing a risk profile.
Improving SAR Submissions
Even though cryptocurrency transactions are anonymous by nature, the parties carrying out illicit transactions can be identified and grouped together. Blockchain analytics can identify and link clusters of input and transactional data with wallet data. The data on suspicious wallets can be built upon to create a more effective SAR for submission to a regulatory body.
Avoiding Regulatory Minefields
If organizations decide to pay ransom, they must ensure they are not paying anyone on U.S.
sanctions lists such as the SDN list published by OFAC. Using Chainalysis and fact-gathering,
we can identify these bad actors to protect our clients from regulatory risk.
Tracking Ransomware Payments
Our certified cryptocurrency investigators can follow ransomware payments and inform the FBI or appropriate law enforcement agencies to help track down attackers. This activity may make it possible to recover funds, just as the government did in the Colonial Pipeline case.
Benefits of ERMProtect’s Approach
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Frequently Asked Questions
ERMProtect traces stolen funds through the blockchain in an attempt to identify where they went. This information can be used to facilitate recovery and/or pursue prosecutions.
ERMProtect performs a scoping phase to assess the viability of your case before moving forward. Please fill out the questionnaire (found here) so that our analysts can provide an opinion. Be sure to provide a two-paragraph summary of what happened, your jurisdiction, and transactions IDs and dates.
Typically, we only take cases where the loss is more than $100,00, given the costs of investigation and chances of recovery.
ERMProtect's analysts scope the case before we begin an investigation. We assess the probability of recovery, the complexity of the case, and the cost to perform an investigation. Our analyst will provide you with an opinion on the viability of the case before moving forward. If we think it’s not in the best interest of a prospective client to hire us based on a preliminary analysis, we say so.
We are an investigative firm, not a recovery firm. We investigate and develop intelligence that can be
used by law enforcement or civil attorneys to attempt recovery.
Recovering funds can be difficult in cryptocurrency. With the help of law enforcement and legal resources, there is a chance of recovering part of the funds, especially if they touched a regulated Exchange.
We are official partners of Chainalysis, the crypto-tracing platform company used by the U.S. Department of Justice and global investigative agencies to solve major crimes. We use Chainalysis to attempt to find out where your funds went and provide a report to law enforcement / civil attorneys who can then issue subpoenas to unmask the perpetrator / recover funds. For fraud and litigation cases, we provide intelligence and analysis that stands up in court.
We charge a small retainer to get started, and then bill hourly. We’re happy to provide an upfront estimate of the hours it will take to handle your case. We do not work on contingency.
Pre-engagement calls would not be time-efficient for either party. Our intake form will gather all of the necessary pre-engagement details. We’ll get back to you within 24 to 48 hours.
Yes. We have helped lawyers pursue civil litigation in major U.S. federal and state court jurisdictions in cases involving millions of dollars.
File a law enforcement report in your jurisdiction. In the U.S., this includes federal agencies such as the FBI, Securities & Exchange Commission (sec.gov/tcr), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC.gov/complaint), Federal Trade Commission (ReportFraud.ftc.gov) and Internet Crime Complaint Center (ic3.gov/Home/FileComplaint. But candidly, due to the overwhelming amount of crypto fraud, chances are slim that your case will be investigated. However, keep in mind that your report to appropriate agencies allows them to spot serial scammers and meaningful trends. Also, with luck, your
small case may get be part of a bigger fraud scheme of interest to prosecutors. But there are no guarantees.