IRS Criminal Investigation Unit Is Taking on More Crypto Tax Cases

  • Head of division says half of active crypto cases involve tax
  • Money laundering was top issue three years ago, Lee says
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

The Internal Revenue Service crime unit that played a leading role in the Binance Holdings Ltd. probe is seeing a surge in cases involving crypto-related tax evasion, according to the division’s leader.

Three years ago, the vast majority of the active crypto investigations — upwards of 90% — involved money laundering, Jim Lee, chief of the IRS’s criminal investigation division, told reporters on a call Monday. But in the past year, about half of the digital-asset probes have involved tax, he said.