The Ministry of Public Security trains to trace and recover crypto assets

Key points

• The Investigation Police Agency Office of the Ministry of Public Security organized the large-scale training session over the past weekend to tackle rising cyber threats.
• Lieutenant General Tran Minh Tien emphasized that the rapid rise of digital assets demands new security measures as criminals continuously exploit blockchain to launder illicit funds.
• Offenders frequently divert money from corruption and online gambling through decentralized exchanges, mixing services, and cross-chain transactions to obscure the original sources.
• Officers received specialized instruction on recognizing suspicious transactions, identifying criminal networks, tracking wallet addresses, and understanding various digital storage tools.
• Experts noted that while blockchain records every transactional history, the underlying data does not inherently reveal the real-world identities behind specific wallet addresses.
• Investigators must cross-reference digital trace results with traditional evidentiary documents to accurately pinpoint the individuals controlling the illicit funds.
• International specialists also contributed by sharing advanced blockchain forensics, incident response strategies, and methods to freeze cross-border crypto assets.
• Data compiled by Chainalysis indicates that Vietnam hosts roughly 17 million cryptocurrency owners, with total capital flows reaching 200 billion US dollars between June of last year and June of this year.
• The Law on Digital Technology Industry takes effect starting January first, formally recognizing digital assets under civil law provisions to grant them standard legal protection.

Why it matters

Enhancing crypto-tracking capabilities marks a crucial step for Vietnamese law enforcement as the domestic digital asset market undergoes a major structural transformation alongside developing legal frameworks. This preparation ensures authorities can effectively combat cybercrime and protect state security as virtual currency adoption continues to expand.