US Black Law Enforcement Group Backs CLARITY Bill, Citing Stronger Financial Crime Tools
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The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, or NOBLE, has formally endorsed the CLARITY Act, a US bill to establish a market-structure framework for digital assets. It marks the first public endorsement of the legislation by a major law enforcement organization.
In a document released July 2 by Eleanor Terrett, host of Crypto in America, NOBLE said in a letter to US Senate leaders that the CLARITY Act "contains several provisions that preserve existing criminal justice authorities while providing law enforcement with meaningful new investigative tools."
NOBLE said the bill would broaden regulatory obligations for participants in the digital-asset industry. It would also create new rules to strengthen digital-asset forfeiture authority and transparency, while increasing oversight of virtual-asset kiosks. The group said those measures would bolster financial-crime investigations and give law enforcement additional tools to respond.
Addressing concerns raised by some critics, NOBLE said the CLARITY Act would not change existing federal criminal authorities used daily by investigators and prosecutors, including those covering money laundering, unlicensed money transmission, conspiracy and sanctions enforcement. It said the bill's core purpose is to preserve those powers while adding new operational tools needed to combat digital-asset crime.
NOBLE said public safety and technological innovation should advance together. A modern regulatory framework, it added, should support responsible innovation while ensuring law enforcement has the authority and capacity needed to detect illegal activity, recover assets for victims and protect communities.
The group also said Congress, the Justice Department, the Treasury Department, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, state and local law enforcement agencies, and the industry must work closely together to effectively address financial crimes involving digital assets. NOBLE said it officially supports the CLARITY Act.
