Members of the United States Secret Service led a three-day course about financial crime at the police headquarters in Prospect.

Police officers, lawyers and customs officers took the course taught by officers from the secret service’s New York field office and criminal investigative division.

Kali Smith, a secret service programme manager, said some people use online payment systems “to utilise cryptocurrency as a mechanism to move illicit proceeds through multiple financial institutions”.

She added: “We came here to not only discuss the foundations of cryptocurrency, but how to investigate it, how criminals are using it, how to prosecute it and some of the lessons the US has learnt for regulatory affairs and case prosecution.”

Antoine Daniels, the Assistant Commissioner of Police, said: “Digital currency is quite new to Bermuda, so a number of our officers don’t have a lot of knowledge about these crimes.

“Crime is becoming more digital, so to be able to combat it, particularly in a global financial centre like Bermuda, is actually quite useful.”

Patrick Freaney, a special agent in charge of the secret service’s New York field office, explained: “We were created to follow the money and battle counterfeit currency — we investigated debit and credit card fraud, and this is the next pivot to tracking cryptocurrency.

“What better way than to partner with our law enforcement partners down here in combating that with cryptocurrency tracing?”

Andrew Murdoch, the Governor, said participants can build on the skills they learnt during the course.

Antoinette Hurtado, the US Consul-General, highlighted the strong relationship between US and Bermuda law enforcement.

She said: “You can name almost any law enforcement entity in the US, we’re all doing something together with Bermuda and collaborating as great security partners to combat transnational crime.”