Crypto-linked suspicious transactions reached the highest record in Germany

The German financial intelligence force reported a record surge in suspicious activity reports related to cryptocurrency last year, even if overall SAR filings declined.

In its annual report released in Cologne on Tuesday, the FIU said 8,711 crypto-related notices were filed in 2024. Bloomberg reported. This occurred despite the reduction in the total number of SARs after issuing new guidance aimed at reducing unrelated reports.

The majority of flagged transactions included Bitcoin (BTC), followed by Ethereum (ETH), Tether (USDT), and Litecoin (LTC). These tokens were frequently linked to activities in trading platforms, mixing services, or online gambling.

FIU noted that these types of transactions are commonly used to obscure the origins of illegal funds, highlighting the increasing role of digital assets in money laundering schemes.

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Internationally, German trends reflect growing concerns over criminal use of cryptocurrencies. In the UK, the National Crime Agency reported that crypto exchanges were tied to 6.6% of SARS in 2023-24, as total applications rose to just 872,000. The UK also noted a sharp rise in counterterrorism funding reports and account removal measures.

In the US, Fincen received over 8,600 crypto-related SARs in 2023. This received jumps driven by a specific recommendation issued in September, resulting in a surge in 1,560 weekly filings. Overall, US entities submitted SARs 4.6 million per year.

Globally, the scale of crypto-related money laundering is also extremely important. According to data from Chain Melting, the amount of washed code reached $31.5 billion in 2022 and then fell to $22.2 billion in 2023, well above the level before 2021.