DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ How the Cartels Launder Their Drug Money, According to a Former Agent
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Kyle Desiderio | Ju Shardlow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Robert Mazur tells the full story of his time as a government agent investigating drug-money laundering. Mazur went undercover for the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service intelligence division, and the Customs Service. In Operation C-Chase, Mazur successfully infiltrated the Medellín cartel by posing as a wealthy, mob-connected businessman named Robert Musella. At its peak, the Cali cartel is estimated to have produced 80% of the world's cocaine supply. It was controlled by Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela, Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela, Pacho Herrera, and José Santacruz Londoño.

Persons: Robert Mazur, Mazur, Robert Musella, Pablo Escobar's, Gonzalo Mora, Roberto Alcaino, Robert Baldasare, Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela, Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela, Pacho Herrera, Londoño, Bryan Cranston, John Leguizamo, Diane Kruger, B095BKWD8L Read Organizations: US Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Customs Service, New York Times, KYC Locations: Italian American, Cali

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said conspiracy charges against KuCoin and two executives should warn other crypto exchanges that they cannot serve U.S. customers without following U.S. laws. An indictment in Manhattan federal court said the company and its founders tried to conceal the existence of its U.S. customer base. KuCoin was also required to cease New York operations after falsely representing itself as a crypto exchange without registering as a securities and commodities broker-dealer, James said. “KuCoin grew to service over 30 million customers, despite its alleged failure to follow laws necessary to ensuring the security and stability of our world’s digital banking infrastructure,” McCormack said. Three companies doing business as KuCoin were incorporated in the Cayman Islands, the Republic of Seychelles and Singapore.

Persons: Damian Williams, KuCoin, Letitia James, James, Williams, “, ”, Darren McCormack, “ KuCoin, ” McCormack, Johnny, Chun Gan, Ke Tang Organizations: New York, Homeland Security Investigations Locations: U.S, Manhattan, York, New York, China, Cayman Islands, Republic of Seychelles, Singapore

☆ Y Combinator-backed trading app Pluto Markets just raised $2.6 million with this 14-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Pluto Markets, a trading app backed by famed accelerator Y Combinator, has raised $2.6 million in fresh funds. The Danish fintech startup, founded in 2021, wants to upend the market for retail trading offerings in Europe. "Companies raised a lot of money to blitz scale across the EU but have now focused on their core markets. Unlike most fintech brokerages, Pluto secured an EU-wide investment license before it had raised $1 million in funding, having bootstrapped and stayed lean. You can check out Pluto Market's 14-slide pitch deck below:

Persons: Joakim Bruchman, Goldman Sachs, We've, Bruchmann, Pluto, Oscar Vingtoft Organizations: Business, Companies, Trade Republic, Saxo Bank, EU Locations: Danish, Europe, Denmark, France, Germany, Berlin

☆ CFTC says access to US customers 'is a privilege, not a right,' in aggressive case against Binance that is only just getting started
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Laila Maidan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

CFTC says case against Changpeng Zhao and Binance is the beginning of an aggressive pursuit. Commissioner Caroline D. Pham said the CFTC has no borders when it comes to prosecuting non-US entities. AdvertisementA statement made by CFTC Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero read: "There are no pirate ships in US markets" and that "access to US customers is a privilege, not a right." Goldsmith added that the CFTC plans to continue its aggressive pursuit of crypto exchanges that violate trade laws. In a separate statement, CFTC Commissioner Caroline D. Pham said the CFTC's reach has no border.

Persons: Changpeng Zhao, Binance, Caroline D, Pham, Zhao, —, it's, Sam Bankman, Christy Goldsmith Romero, Goldsmith Organizations: CFTC, Service, Commodity Futures Locations: U.S

☆ Defacto provides short-term loans to SMEs. It just raised $10 million with this 20-slide pitch deck.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

French fintech startup Defacto has raised a $10 million Series A extension from Citi Ventures. The Paris-based business, founded in 2021, provides short-term loans to small and medium-sized businesses. However, through integrations with businesses like fellow fintechs Pennylane and Qonto, Defacto wants to lower the cost and administration for smaller businesses. The new funding will go towards the continued growth of Defacto's platform as it pushes towards more personalized debt financing for small businesses. Check out Defacto's 20-slide Series A extension pitch deck below:

Persons: Pennylane, Morgan O'Hana, O'Hana, Northzone Organizations: Citi Ventures, Open Banking, Global Founders Capital Locations: Paris, integrations

☆ India's central bank imposes penalty on Paytm Payments Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBENGALURU, Oct 12 (Reuters) - India's central bank said on Thursday it has imposed a penalty of 53.9 million rupees ($647,762.58) on Paytm Payments Bank for non-compliance with some provisions, including Know Your Customer (KYC) directions. According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Paytm Payments Bank had failed to identify beneficial owners of entities on-boarded by it for providing payout services. It also did not monitor payout transactions and carry out risk profiling of entities availing payout services, among others. The RBI had last year barred Paytm Payments Bank from taking on new customers and ordered a comprehensive audit of its IT systems, citing "material" supervisory concerns observed in the bank. Paytm Payments Bank had also breached the regulatory ceiling of end-of-the-day balance in certain customer advance accounts that were availing payout services, the central bank said in a statement.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Antfin, China's, Ashish Chandra, Sohini Goswami Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Paytm Payments Bank, Reserve Bank of India, Bank, Google, HK, Thomson Locations: India, Paytm, Bengaluru

☆ TransactionLink, a fintech startup founded by a former Visa and N26 employee, raised $5.3 million in new funding using this 10-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

TransactionLink, a company founded by a former Visa and N26 staffer, has raised $5.3 million. Founded in 2020, the startup provides automation tools for companies to do new customer onboarding. TransactionLink, a startup that helps businesses automate their customer onboarding, has raised $5.3 million in venture capital funding, the company said Wednesday. Founded in 2020, the Berlin and London-based company provides no-code automation tools for companies to do new customer onboarding and know your customer, or KYC, checks. The startup, founded by former Visa and N26 staffer Mateusz Pniewski, makes it easier for businesses to create complex workflows for new customer onboarding, helping to reduce the cost of requiring a large operations team for similar tasks.

Persons: Mateusz Pniewski Organizations: Visa Locations: Berlin, London

☆ Kazakh fintech Freedom Holding is being investigated by DOJ, SEC, documents show
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The SEC's Boston regional office has been probing Freedom for months, according to documents seen by CNBC and people familiar with the matter. The U.S. Attorney's Office for Massachusetts is also making preliminary inquiries into Freedom, documents seen by CNBC show. Nearly 115,000 Freedom shares changed hands in the first half hour of trading, 1.25 times the stock's 10-day average. Turlov and Freedom are aware of the SEC probe, which has been going on for months, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC. An SEC spokesperson told CNBC that it doesn't comment on the existence or nonexistence of an investigation.

Persons: that's, Timur Turlov, Turlov, Hindenburg, Citron Organizations: Nasdaq, Securities, Exchange, CNBC, Boston, Attorney's, Massachusetts, SEC, DOJ, Justice, Hindenburg, Citron Research, Las, Trump, Financial, Financial Industry, Authority, Freedom Locations: Almaty, Kazakhstan, Russian, U.S, Kazakh, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, New York, Las Vegas, New

☆ French verification startup Ondorse just raised $4 million in a seed round led by Deezer investor Eurazeo with this 12-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

French verification startup Ondorse has raised $4 million in seed funding from Deezer and Onfido investor Eurazeo. The Paris-based company, founded in 2022, has built an array of tools to help businesses manage their know-your-customer (KYC) workflows. Ondorse effectively leverages the proficiencies of businesses in the compliance space to provide a clearer and quicker view of its processes. Ondorse has raised $4 million in seed funding just nine months after its $2.5 million pre-seed round which was also led by French fund Eurazeo with participation from tech fund ISAI. "We feel we have the right expertise to build this product given the changing regulatory landscape," Boelle said.

Persons: Eurazeo, Ondorse, Alan, I've, Aymeric Boelle, Boelle Locations: Deezer, Paris, Europe, France

A company logo of Shanghai Futures Exchange is displayed at a booth during LME Week Asia in Hong Kong, China June 14, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby Yip Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING/LONDON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - The Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) is looking into the possible launch of nickel futures for international use, a potential challenge to the London Metal Exchange's (LME) contract, five sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Average daily LME nickel volumes plunged because of the crisis. CME Group (CME.O) is also looking to launch a nickel contract that would settle against prices gathered from a platform to be launched by British-based Global Commodities Holdings (GCH). CME did not respond to a request for an update on its plans for a nickel contract.

Persons: Bobby Yip, ShFE, Nickel, GCH, Pratima Desai, Siyi Liu, Julian Luk, Veronica Brown, Alexander Smith Organizations: Shanghai Futures, REUTERS, Rights, Shanghai Futures Exchange, London, Reuters, International Energy Exchange, CME, Global Commodities Holdings, Thomson Locations: Asia, Hong Kong, China, Rights BEIJING, LONDON, British, Singapore, Abaxx

☆ Norwegian AI startup Strise helps banks tackle financial crime. It just raised a $10.8 million Series A round with this 8-slide pitch deck.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Norwegian AI startup Strise has raised $10.8 million in Series A funding. Strise will use the funding to expand its operations to the UK, where it plans to open an office. Strise, an AI startup that helps businesses deal with anti-money laundering (AML) and compliance issues, has raised $10.8 million in funding. Strise's Series A funding round was led by Atomico, with participation from existing investors including Maki.vc plus angels like Camilla Giesecke, COO at Klarna, and Riya Grover, CEO at Sequence. Check out Strise's Series A pitch deck below:

Persons: Orrick, It's, Marit Rødevand, Rødevand, Atomico, Camilla Giesecke, Riya Grover Locations: Oslo, Norwegian

☆ Big startups are a bust so prestige investors are fighting for deals into tiny European companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Funding to European startups across the board dropped by almost 60% to $23 billion in the first six months of 2023, according to Crunchbase data. ElevenLabs, a London-based artificial intelligence startup founded by Google and Palantir alumni, pulled in $18 million at a $100 million valuation a year after it was founded. Mistral, another European startup set up by ex-Facebook and DeepMind staffers, raised $113 million a month after it was founded. AI has been of particular interest to investors with similar hype surrounding a deal for London-based text-to-voice startup ElevenLabs. Industry stakeholders believe that teams springing from already successful companies to set up their own startups will be very attractive with some predicting startups founded between 2022 and 2024 primed to be very in demand in the future.

Persons: Andreessen Horowitz, David Schreiber, Duco van, Pivot, Marc, Antoine Lacroix, Romain Libeau, Sifted, Filip Dames, Dames Organizations: Google, Mistral, Facebook, Ventures, Cocoa, Club, Cherry Ventures, Sequoia, Industry Locations: Europe, London, Paris, Berlin

On Wednesday afternoon a MoonPay spokesperson responded to CNBC Crypto World's request for comment saying, "MoonPay provides both on- and off-ramp services. With respect to Binance.US users, we are providing a service for those users that want to purchase crypto as well as convert their crypto to fiat and deposit into their US bank account. MoonPay performs rigorous KYC checks on all customers. We support many of our existing partners and exchanges with this functionality."

Persons: CNBC Crypto, MoonPay Organizations: CNBC

☆ Hindenburg Research targets $4.6 billion Kazakh brokerage for allegedly helping Russian oligarchs evade sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Timur Turlov, CEO of Freedom Finance brokerage speaks to Reuters during the interview in the office in Moscow, Russia October 10, 2019. Freedom Holding Corp. was founded in Moscow in 2008, before later moving to Kazakhstan, and listed on the Nasdaq in 2019. After Russia invaded Ukraine early last year, U.S. sanctions essentially severed ties between American and Russian banks and companies. But according to a report from Hindenburg on Tuesday, those ties remain tight. One former senior executive alleged to Hindenburg that Russian money laundering was rampant.

Persons: Timur Turlov, Jack Dorsey's Block, Carl Icahn, Freedom, Hindenburg's, Hindenburg, OFAC, I've Organizations: Freedom Finance, Reuters, Hindenburg Research, Freedom Holding, Nasdaq, Freedom, noncompliance, U.S . Treasury Department's, Foreign Assets, SEC, European Union, Freedom's, Ukraine Locations: Moscow, Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Hindenburg, Russian, United Kingdom, Belizean

☆ HSBC CEO on Farage-Coutts spat: 'We do not exit clients based on their lawful personal views'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

HSBC's U.K. headquarters are seen at the Canary Wharf financial district of London on July 31, 2018. Although refusing to discuss details of other banks and their clients, HSBC boss Quinn told CNBC on Tuesday that "our policy is not to de-bank or exit a client based on their lawful personal views." "We also have a responsibility as an institution to look at any areas of financial crime compliance or we have an obligation to collect information on KYC (Know Your Customer), so we have those competing obligations but to reiterate, as a policy we do not exit clients based on their lawful personal views." The closure of Farage's account triggered a heated debate in the U.K. and rocked the domestic banking industry. NatWest CEO Alison Rose was forced to resign, after she admitted discussing details of Farage's Coutts account with a BBC reporter in the wake of his allegations.

Persons: Tolga Akmen, Noel Quinn, Coutts, Nigel Farage's, Farage, Coutts —, —, Quinn, Alison Rose, Farage's Coutts, Peter Flavel, Rishi Sunak, Jonathan Bachman Organizations: AFP, Getty, LONDON, HSBC, Trump, NatWest Group, CNBC, NatWest, BBC, Brexit Party, UKIP Locations: London, U.K

☆ Where Steve Cohen's Point72 Ventures sees opportunities in fintech, from generative AI to solving gamers' payments woes
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Bianca Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Tripp Shriner is a managing partner at Point72 Ventures, the VC arm of Steve Cohen's hedge fund. Point72 Ventures is now actively looking for new fintech investments after what it said was "a quieter period"— it last invested in payment startup Pagos' $34 million Series A in February. "We're still early, getting toward the check-writing side of things," Tripp Shriner, managing partner and fintech investor at Point72 Ventures, told Insider. The investment themes lay the groundwork for where Point72 Ventures will spend its time and money in the coming months and years. Point72 Ventures' approach to AI is largely guided by how financial firms want to use the tech.

Persons: Tripp Shriner, Steve Cohen's, Fintechs, We're, Shriner, it's Organizations: Point72 Ventures, Point72, Mastercard Locations: fintech, KYC

☆ Point72 Ventures fintech investor breaks down what's next for Steve Cohen's firm, from generative AI to solving gamers' payments woes
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Bianca Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Tripp Shriner is a partner at Point72 Ventures, the VC arm of Steve Cohen's hedge fund. "We're still early, getting toward the check-writing side of things," Tripp Shriner, partner and fintech investor at Point72 Ventures, told Insider. The investment themes lay the groundwork for where Point72 Ventures will spend its time and money in the coming months and years. Point72 Ventures' approach to AI is largely guided by how financial firms want to use the tech. However, success would depend on financial firms' willingness to adopt such a fundamental change.

Persons: Tripp Shriner, Steve Cohen's, Fintechs, We're, Shriner, it's Organizations: Point72 Ventures, Point72, Mastercard Locations: fintech, KYC

☆ SEC sues Binance and CEO Changpeng Zhao for U.S. securities violations
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Binance's ultimate compliance, in 2019, was largely a public show, the SEC complaint continues. The SEC alleged that Binance and Zhao violated "critical" provisions of federal security laws, including self-dealing and market manipulation, through Merit Peak Limited and Sigma Chain, both of which Zhao controlled and owned. Merit Peak, a British Virgin Islands-based company, was one of the "earliest market makers" on Binance's U.S. platform, the SEC alleged. "We will issue a response once we see the complaint," Zhao said on Twitter. The defendants showed a "blatant disregard" of federal law, the SEC alleged.

Persons: Changpeng Zhao, Zhao, Binance, Binance.US Organizations: Securities, Exchange, Binance, SEC, CNBC, Limited, Sigma Chain, Merit, Binance's U.S, Twitter, Media Locations: European, The U.S, USA, U.S, VPNs, Binance.com, British Virgin Islands, Binance's

☆ Microsoft outlines its vision for keeping A.I. in check
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The principles Microsoft President Brad Smith announced Thursday are:— Installing and building on AI safety frameworks led by the government, such as the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology AI Risk Management Framework. — Requiring safety breaks when AI is used to control critical infrastructure. Smith suggested AI services should adopt a framework from the financial services sector: Know Your Customer, or KYC. Microsoft has said it's investing billions of dollars into OpenAI as it seeks to be a leader in the field. WATCH: Microsoft bringing an A.I.

Persons: Brad Smith, Donald Trump, Smith, Sam Altman, OpenAI, Bing Organizations: White, Microsoft, U.S . National Institute of Standards, Technology, Washington , D.C, CNBC, YouTube Locations: Washington, Washington ,

☆ Cross-border payroll is complicated — and risky. From tax and labor laws to forex and banking regs, here's what you need to know.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Papaya With Insider Studios | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

The challenges and complexities of cross-border payroll paymentsCross-border payroll payments can present several challenges and complexities for employers. Banking systemsSome countries have a less developed banking system, which can make the process of cross-border payroll payments more complex. Cons:Limited acceptance: In some countries, payroll cards may have limited acceptance, making them less attractive as a cross-border payroll payment method. The role of technology in streamlining the process of cross-border payroll paymentsMost payroll companies outsource the delivery of payroll payments. Manage cross-border payroll payments effectivelyAdopting a dedicated technology for global payroll payments — like Papaya Global — can make the process of paying your global workforce faster, smoother, and more reliable.

Persons: paychecks, Banks Organizations: Mastercard, Employers, Global, McKinsey Global, Insider Studios Locations: Canada, New York, India, United States, Belgium

☆ Block investors may seek clarity on Cash App after Hindenburg report
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Manya Saini | Thomson Reuters | Manya Saini Reports On Prominent Publicly Listed U.S. Financial Firms Including Wall Street S Biggest Banks | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

May 3 (Reuters) - Jack Dorsey-led Block Inc's (SQ.N) first-quarter results will likely see investors zoom in on the payments firm's Cash App business following U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research's allegations including inflated user count. Morgan Stanley analysts in April said that some bearish investors remain uncertain about the amount of gross profit that is generated by "potential illicit activity" on the Cash App platform. "Eventually, bears suspect a meaningful amount of gross profit might come under pressure if regulators crack down on Cash App, and also think this makes it hard to accept that Cash App can be a legitimate, trusted bank in the long-term," they added. Block has touted Cash App as an alternative to traditional banking services. Cash App reported 51 million monthly active customers as of Dec. 31, of which 44 million were verified.

☆ Monitoring Financial Institution Compliance
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +41 min

Compliance MonitorshipsA compliance monitor (also called an independent examiner or independent compliance consultant) is an impartial party appointed by the government to detect the root causes of the institution’s compliance failures. The purpose of a compliance monitor is not to address a particular compliance failure or punish the institution. Responded to compliance issues, in a timely manner and in a way that demonstrates that the institution takes compliance issues seriously. Compliance Department EmployeesThe monitor must evaluate the adequacy of compliance department employees, including the number of compliance employees, their experience, and their expertise. Assess the Compliance SystemsThe monitor typically engages compliance technology experts, who have specific knowledge of coding and compliance technology software, to test and evaluate the institution’s compliance systems.

☆ Elon Musk's potential plan for turning Twitter into a super app is an uphill battle. These are the 3 biggest things holding the strategy back, according to experts.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Paige Hagy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

And while he's never publically detailed specific plans for a super app, recent changes at Twitter offer some clues. He first teased his intentions to transform Twitter into a super app called "X" prior to acquiring it in October 2022. It 'makes no sense' to build on TwitterFor starters, Twitter is a peculiar place to build a super app, some experts said. A super app in the US is difficultPerhaps a bigger issue not specific to Musk's plans for Twitter is whether a super app in the US is even possible. So if anyone can build a super app in the US, it would be him.

☆ Elon Musk's everything app could include Twitter. But industry experts can't make sense of the strategy.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Paige Hagy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Elon Musk wants to create a US super app, but industry experts have some concerns. And while he's never publically detailed specific plans for a super app, recent changes at Twitter offer some clues. He first teased his intentions to transform Twitter into a super app called "X" prior to acquiring it in October 2022. It 'makes no sense' to build on TwitterFor starters, Twitter is a peculiar place to build a super app, some experts said. A super app in the US is difficultPerhaps a bigger issue not specific to Musk's plans for Twitter is whether a super app in the US is even possible.

☆ Binance and founder Changpeng Zhao violated compliance rules to attract U.S. users, CFTC alleges
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Beyond disgorgement and any monetary costs, the CFTC filing asked the court to impose further relief, including trading and registration bans. Just days prior to the CFTC filing, CNBC reported on how Binance employees worked to subvert the exchange's compliance controls in China, using some of the same techniques that the CFTC alleges Binance to solicit U.S. users. "Do not directly tell the user to run," Binance instructed its VIP team, the filing alleged. The CFTC filing alleges that Binance engaged in similar activity for its U.S. users. But, Zhao posted a tweet that said "4" in an apparent response to the CFTC filing.

Search resuls for: "KYC"

25 mentions found