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Industry and prosecutors tell House panel AI and blockchain tools are needed to track illicit activity
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Summary
Witnesses urged Congress to fund AI‑enabled investigative tools, blockchain analytics and training for law enforcement after describing how criminals use AI at scale and how defenders can employ the same technologies to trace funds and disrupt networks.
Industry representatives and former prosecutors told a House Judiciary subcommittee on July 16, 2025 that fighting AI‑enabled crime will require funded investigative tools, training and stronger public‑private partnerships.
Ari Redbord, global head of policy at TRM Labs and a former federal prosecutor and Treasury official, described a shift in criminal operations: "We are rapidly approaching a world in which the bottleneck for crime is no longer human coordination, but computational power." Redbord said that criminals increasingly use AI to draft phishing emails, scale extortion and automate laundering, and he urged Congress to provide law enforcement with modern investigative platforms and specialized training.
Redbord and other witnesses highlighted blockchain analytics as a key capability for tracing illicit proceeds, citing recent enforcement actions. He noted that open public ledgers can be traced to identify networks that move funds and pointed to a recent civil forfeiture complaint alleging $2,225,000,000 in proceeds tied to pig‑butchering scams as an example of network‑level investigations now possible.
Witnesses recommended that Congress allocate dedicated funding for AI‑enabled tools, support public‑private information sharing, and expand training so that state and local investigators can use modern platforms. Zahra Bridal of Overwatch Data and Dr. Andrew Bowne also urged clearer procurement standards and test‑and‑evaluation processes so agencies acquire AI systems that meet safety and reliability standards.
Panelists emphasized the need to balance enforcement tools with civil‑liberties protections. Cody Vinski of the ACLU warned that data consolidation and forced access to sensitive information risk creating centralized dossiers and increase Fourth Amendment concerns.
Representative questions focused on scalability and jurisdiction: members asked whether AI and crypto make cross‑border attribution harder or easier. Redbord argued that while crypto provides new avenues for value transfer, public ledger analysis and AI tools can help investigators map funds and identify real‑world actors when properly resourced.
No procurement or appropriations decisions were made during the hearing; members asked for follow‑up briefings and signaled support for funding and training proposals.
