This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit <a href="https://hatchetmedia.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_7">hatchetmedia.substack.com</a><br/><br/><p>There’s something about the way we talk about crime that I’ve always found frustrating.</p><p>Whether it’s car theft rings or fentanyl trafficking or targeted killings, we end up having intense political debates about peripheral issues — should we be locking more people up or making it harder to get bail or changing the Youth Criminal Justice Act</p><p>But we rarely, if ever, talk about the central issue — money.</p><p>Organized crime groups have to set up sophisticated operations to launder their money and put it to use. But today, there exists a shadow financial system that has made it easier than ever for criminals to launder their money with ease. It's cryptocurrency.</p><p>And ironically, it’s often the same politicians who run on tough-on-crime agendas — people like Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim or Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre — who are simultaneously embracing crypto, the preferred currency of the modern criminal.</p><p>What is surprising is how easy it is to turn that crypto into cash. We’re talking about eye-popping sums; hundreds of thousands of dollars at once, without the Canadian government knowing about it.</p><p>Featured in this episode: Emma McIntosh (<em>The</em> <em>Toronto Star)</em></p><p><strong>To Learn More:</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.thestar.com/news/investigations/inside-canadas-shadowy-crypto-banking-system-that-makes-it-easy-to-facilitate-an-unlimited-amount/article_7d99c95f-57c0-4b50-909d-63da96848a4d.html">"Inside Canada’s shadowy crypto banking system that makes it easy to facilitate ‘an unlimited amount of crime'"</a> by Sheila Wang & Emma McIntosh in <em>The Toronto Star</em></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.icij.org/investigations/coin-laundry/cryptocurrency-exchanges-binance-okx-money-laundering-crime/">"Crypto giants moved billions linked to money launderers, drug traffickers and North Korean hackers"</a> by Spencer Woodman, Agustin Armendariz, Miguel Fiandor Gutiérrez & Sam Ellefson in <em>The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists</em></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.thestar.com/news/investigations/canada-has-become-weak-link-in-fight-against-crypto-scams/article_bc0ad357-cff2-4d89-9061-9abe38a44fc6.html">"Why Canada is seen ‘as a very weak link’ in the global fight against crypto fraud — and what can be done to fix it"</a> by Emma McIntosh & Sheila Wang in <em>The Toronto Star</em></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.thestar.com/news/investigations/stolen-crypto-investigation/article_31ed9112-09e0-41b5-b9fe-f5a22c254caa.html">"The trail had gone cold for millions in stolen crypto. Then came the ‘aha!’ moment that unlocked the mystery"</a> by Sheila Wang & Emma McIntosh in <em>The Toronto Star</em></p><p></p>