Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco Delivers Remarks at the Plenary Session of the ASEAN & G-7 Justice Ministers’ Interface

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

I am honored to represent the United States and the Department of Justice, and to join distinguished colleagues from the ASEAN nations and the G7.

Together we share a commitment to upholding the rule of law, and keeping our citizens safe — safe from an ever-evolving set of threats, including:  cybercrime; transnational organized crime and drug trafficking; and the misuse of critical and disruptive technologies in a manner to threaten human rights and undermine democracy.

We cannot face these threats alone.

We gather today to join forces against unprecedented threats; with resolve to strengthen our partnerships — partnerships that are critical to protecting those we serve.

I want to start by discussing cybercrime. Transnational cyber criminals and nation-state cyber actors have become more aggressive, more sophisticated and more brazen.

This blended threat of nation-state cyber actors and criminal groups poses a significant threat to the functioning and stability of our societies and our economies.

In the U.S., our prosecutors and agents are working with partners across the globe to take down cybercriminals, seize the proceeds of their crimes, and disrupt the criminal ecosystem that allows them to flourish.

In all of this, our international partnerships are critical — there is not a cyber investigation today that does not involve an international component.

For example, earlier this year, working with partners across the globe, we disrupted Bitzlato, a cryptocurrency exchange, and Chipmixer, a service designed to obscure cryptocurrency on the blockchain. These platforms were used by criminals to launder $3.7 billion in illicit proceeds.

Similarly, in January, we went after the Hive ransomware group by engaging in what I’ve referred to as a “21st Century digital stakeout.” By infiltrating the Hive ransomware group’s key servers, we were able to capture its decryption keys and provide them to victims around the world. As a result, we prevented more than $130 million in ransom payments.

These actions, to take down major cybercriminals and their networks that operate and claim victims across the globe, depend on international cooperation, with partners like you.

We are now on our front foot in the fight against cybercrime. But we must maintain the momentum.

Only through international teamwork can we turn the tables on malicious cyber actors.

The threats we face don’t stop at the keyboard or take place only in cyberspace.

Just as we have gone on the offensive against cyber criminals around the globe, the Department of Justice continues to wage a relentless campaign to disrupt the violent drug cartels that fuel violence and threatens the rule of law around the world.

Today, the greatest drug threat we face in the United States is from illicit synthetic drugs — the most deadly of which is fentanyl.

Last year our Centers for Disease Control estimate that more than 110,000 Americans died from overdose – 70% of those from fentanyl.

Fentanyl is a uniquely deadly drug. It poses a singular threat not only because the smallest of doses can be lethal, but because fentanyl does not occur in nature – it is entirely man-made, and in potentially limitless supply.

The cartels responsible for trafficking this poison originated in Mexico — but make no mistake — they operate globally.

To my colleagues — I urge you to recognize that while you may not see this deadly killer now — you will. Fentanyl trafficking is a serious threat to all of us and is an area ripe for future cooperation.

That means going after the chemical companies that manufacture and export fentanyl precursor chemicals — many of which are in China. It means taking down the network of illicit laboratories that use those chemicals to produce the drug; it means holding accountable the global cartel traffickers that peddle it to unsuspecting consumers across the globe and the sophisticated money-launders who enable it all.

In recent months, we have indicted criminals at every step in the supply and delivery chain: executives at Chinese chemical companies and Mexican drug cartel leaders, money launderers and hitmen; producers, suppliers and dealers in the U.S. and around the globe.

We’ve strengthened our partnerships around the world to enable us to better detect and disrupt distribution channels. This has been possible only through working with our foreign partners, including countries present here today.

We stand ready to work with all who will work with us to send a message to the transnational organized crime groups that poison our communities – there must be no safe haven.

I want to close with a threat over-the-horizon: the rise of disruptive technologies that, when misused, threaten the freedoms of our citizens, our values, and the rule of law.

To combat this threat, we’ve launched the Disruptive Technology Strike Force. It’s a collaboration of U.S. law enforcement agencies – led by the Justice Department and the Commerce Department. The Strike Force is focused on preventing the unlawful transfer of critical technologies that could be used to undermine our national security, to repress populations, to suppress dissent, and to fuel our adversaries’ drive for a military and national security edge.

Our message is clear: We will not tolerate those who violate U.S. laws to use advanced technology to threaten our collective national security and undermine the rule of law around the world.

I am grateful to all of you for engaging with us to combat these threats through our traditional channels of cooperation – the sharing of law enforcement information, mutual legal assistance, and extradition.

I am grateful to join you today and look forward to our continued partnerships.