(Bloomberg) — Cryptocurrency firms, armed with cash and in need of regulatory experience, are poaching U.K. cybercrime cops with offers of double or triple pay.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council, the representative body for all U.K. forces, says they are losing experienced cybercrime officers and staff at 3 to 4 times the rate of the rest of policing.
The NPCC estimates that around 15 individuals from a policing or law enforcement background now work for prominent crypto firms — and they expect this to increase significantly over the next year to 18 months.
“The loss of experienced cyber officers and staff is a significant problem for us,” said Andrew Gould, head of the NPCC’s cybercrime unit. “Their skills are in high demand in the private sector so we can see them doubling or tripling their pay which is why they go.”
In 2018, U.K. police chiefs lobbied the government for funding to equip about 250 officers — dubbed crypto tactical advisers — and train them how to investigate, seize, and realize the value of digital currencies. Meanwhile, crypto firms and exchanges have had to face up to the threat posed by hackers as well as prepare for a slew of new global regulation.
Surge in Crypto Seizures Has Cops Hunting for USBs, Passwords
Coinbase Global Inc., the largest U.S. crypto exchange, and Chainalysis, a crypto research firm, are among those employing former law enforcement staff. Binance Holdings Ltd., the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, appointed a former official at the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority as its Director of Regulatory Policy last week.
A Coinbase spokesperson said they “can play an integral role in keeping our customers’ funds safe and secure as we work toward becoming the most trusted on-ramp to the cryptoeconomy.”
But their gain is the police’s loss as agencies grapple with the departure of valuable staff they’ve spent years training in this area.
“Whilst we don’t begrudge them a well deserved pay rise operationally we can’t afford to lose such highly skilled staff at that rate,” Gould said.
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