Sen. Warren aims to prevent oligarchs from using crypto to evade sanctions

Sen. Warren aims to prevent oligarchs from using crypto to evade¹ sanctions

　　Transcript²

　　NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts about her bill aiming to strengthen U.S. sanctions against Russia by blocking access to cryptocurrencies.

　　STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

　　Several senators say they want to close a loophole in Western economic sanctions against Russia. Democrat³ Elizabeth Warren is one of them. She's proposed new legislation for cryptocurrencies. The bill would compel crypto platforms to know who their customers are and to block transactions if they're sanctioned. Warren is proposing a shift in how some of the industry does business.

　　ELIZABETH WARREN: Russian oligarchs can continue to use crypto to move their money around. So we're just going to give Treasury⁴ the authorization⁵ to treat these crypto platforms much like the banks are treated. That is, you've got to know your customer and you can't be dealing⁶ with people who are in violation⁷ of sanctions.

　　INSKEEP: I want to make sure that the ordinary person can follow what we're discussing here. In the traditional world, you might have money denominated in rubles. You might change it into dollars. You might change it into euros. That's now becoming very difficult for Russians to do. You're saying that what they might do instead is change it into cryptocurrency, which would make it easier to hide, and it might also retain its value. Is that it?

　　WARREN: That's exactly right. And in the same way that right now the U.S. government and other governments are going after the oligarchs who are the ones who help keep Putin propped⁸ up, we're going after their yachts, and we're going after their condos. We want to have the tools to be able to go after the value that they have hidden in crypto. And understand this is not just a theoretical problem. Russia is involved directly in about three-quarters of all of the value that changes hands because of ransomware. We know that Iran and other countries have evaded⁹ economic sanctions by using crypto currencies. So the threat is real. Russia's good at this. That's why it's important to have a tool available to the Treasury.

　　INSKEEP: Isn't the fundamental appeal of cryptocurrency for a lot of people the relative anonymity¹⁰ of it? And can the United States government really use financial tools to force that anonymity to go away?

　　WARREN: Well, you know, that's a real problem with crypto. Among those who use crypto right now are drug dealers¹¹, tax cheats, people who are engaging in ransomware and countries that are trying to evade economic sanctions. And the crypto world itself is divided over this. There are crypto platforms that function in some ways like banks that say we want to make sure that we're not helping¹² people evade sanctions. We will do know your customer, and all this says is that's fine. As long as you're doing that, we have no problem with you. But there are others who say, nope, that's a feature. We want to keep it all anonymous¹³. And that poses a threat to all of the rest of us.

　　INSKEEP: Senator Warren, as you probably know very well, the Western sanctions have triggered further talk from Russia, from China, from some other countries, of developing their own financial tools that can't be sanctioned by the United States and its allies. Saudi Arabia, for example, is now talking of selling oil to China denominated in Chinese currency rather than in dollars, which is the way that oil is almost always sold. I'm thinking of the enormous range of financial powers the United States has because it has been central to the global economy. My curiosity is whether those tools are a little bit like nuclear weapons. You can only use them once. And other parts of the world based around China may very well at some point come up with their own financial systems that are closed off and independent from the United States.

　　WARREN: We should be concerned about the growth of systems where no one can track value, where cheaters can hide out, where ransomware folks can collect their ransoms¹⁴. But here's ultimately the point. Everybody - and this means everybody, not just in America but everybody around the world - wants a financial system they can count on. They may want an exception once in a while, but they want a financial system they can count on that when they get ready to cash out, they know their value will be there and they can get it back. Creating alternative systems where you can't count on that, where the Chinese government may seize it, where criminals may bring the whole system down, that's not what nations of the world, that's not what people of the world ultimately want.

　　INSKEEP: So you're not concerned about parts of the world led by China moving away from the U.S. dollar, creating their own version of the SWIFT banking¹⁵ system or any number of other steps.

　　WARREN: At the end of the day, anyone who puts their money with China knows that at the other end, when there's a problem, things go wrong, your nation is in a conflict with China, maybe the money will be there and maybe it won't. I just don't think that's going to work.

　　INSKEEP: Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, always a pleasure. Thanks.

　　WARREN: Thanks.

1 evade   

vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避

参考例句：

• He tried to evade the embarrassing question.他企图回避这令人难堪的问题。
• You are in charge of the job.How could you evade the issue?你是负责人，你怎么能对这个问题不置可否？

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

4 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

5 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

6 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

7 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

8 propped   

支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sat propped up in the bed by pillows. 他靠着枕头坐在床上。
• This fence should be propped up. 这栅栏该用东西支一支。

9 evaded   

逃避( evade的过去式和过去分词 )； 避开； 回避； 想不出

参考例句：

• For two weeks they evaded the press. 他们有两周一直避而不见记者。
• The lion evaded the hunter. 那狮子躲开了猎人。

10 anonymity   

n.the condition of being anonymous

参考例句：

• Names of people in the book were changed to preserve anonymity. 为了姓名保密，书中的人用的都是化名。
• Our company promises to preserve the anonymity of all its clients. 我们公司承诺不公开客户的姓名。

11 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

12 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

13 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

14 ransoms   

付赎金救人，赎金( ransom的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The kidnappers exacted ransoms for their hostages. 绑匪勒索人质的赎金。
• Hotel:Wealthy captives sleep at the hotel for an increase in their ransoms. 酒店：富有的俘虏们要住在酒店等待足够的赎金以回家。

15 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。