Chainalysis and KPMG Unveil Joint Initiative to Tackle Crypto Fraud In Canada

Accounting firm KPMG’s Canadian unit is joining forces with blockchain data platform Chainalysis to assist companies in battling crypto fraud.

As part of the collaboration, KPMG will join Chainalysis’ “Solution Provider” program. The program provides “rigorous monitoring, support, governance and risk management to crypto exchanges, financial institutions, law enforcement and government agencies,” as outlined in an official statement.

After finishing the program, KPMG professionals will receive certification as “Chainalysis Certified Investigators.” This initiative is crafted to empower them to aid clients in identifying and preventing illicit activities involving cryptocurrency, stay in compliance with evolving crypto regulations, and fortify existing anti-money laundering compliance measures.

“Crypto asset exchanges, crypto-native companies, financial institutions, government and law enforcement agencies are increasingly looking for innovative ways to help them ‘follow the crypto’ to investigate criminal activity,” Enzo Carlucci, forensic leader at KPMG in Canada, said.

“By teaming up with Chainalysis, KPMG clients can benefit from Chainalysis’ proprietary blockchain data monitoring technology, resulting in improved identification of potentially criminal activities and faster response times.”

KPMG’s move comes at a time of increased exploitation in crypto, with various companies falling victim to frauds and scams. Last year, the volume of global illicit cryptocurrency transactions reached a record high of $20.6 billion, as reported in Chainalysis’ 2023 Crypto Crime Report.

Just today, crypto exchange HTX and blockchain protocol Heco Chain confirmed that they had been hacked, resulting in a combined loss of $97 million across various tokens.

A fortnight ago, on-chain investigator ScamSniffer revealed that hackers had successfully pilfered over $60 million in cryptocurrency within six months from Ethereum wallets utilizing the Create2 code. According to ScamSniffer, the hackers exploited Create2’s ability to pre-calculate contract addresses, enabling them to generate new addresses for each malicious signature.

“By teaming up with one of Canada’s largest professional services firms, our clients can leverage the expertise of KPMG’s trusted forensics and crypto asset advisory professionals to establish effective know your transaction (KYT) rules, stronger anti-money laundering protocols and robust investigation strategies,” Chainalysis co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer Jonathan Levin said.