Legal Challenges of Combatting Money Laundering Originated Bitcoin with a Look at Iranian Laws and Regulations

Cryptocurrencies are on the rise and so is money laundering. Some cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have played a major role in the proliferation of online money laundering as it possesses characteristics that criminals are fond of.Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are decentralized and anonymous. They provide the means to skirt the Anti-Money laundering safeguards that have been put in place. The purpose of this paper is introducing and investigation of the legal features of virtual money and combatting the ensuing money laundering, which has caused crimes such as fraud and organized crimes-originated internet money laundering, the main use of which is in virtual networks and communities. The aim of this paper is analyzing legal challenges of combatting cryptocurrencies-originated money laundering, investigating its influence on preventing money laundering in domestic and international level. It is finally concluded that it is better to spot the proper technologies and monitor the way they are used by complying with the current legal plans and amending them in line with state of the art methods rather than adding up to the rules and anticipating new generations of complicated technologies.