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☆ High-powered satellites have made blue-carbon credits a reality. But they still face accuracy and scalability issues.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Breakthroughs in satellite technology have helped commercialize blue-carbon credits. Over $50 billion worth of carbon credits have been predicted to be traded annually in the voluntary market, according to McKinsey. Blue carbon, which is stored in coastal and marine ecosystems, has become an increasingly important asset in the fight against the climate crisis. Carbon credits can then be verified and issued faster. Satellite data has to be paired with sonar, divers collecting information, or other field data, she added.

Persons: Philip Davis, Guy Wolf, Oxford University spinout OxCarbon, it's, Wolf, David Gross, you've, Thomas Merriman, Donna Lyndsay, Traganos, It's, Kita's Merriman, Merriman, Zoë Balmforth, Cameron Frayling Organizations: McKinsey ., World Resources Institute, Tech, Oxford University, Bank OxCarbon, Kita, Ordnance Survey Locations: Bahamas, Caribbean, Islamorada , Florida

☆ Lindsay Shiver, charged with conspiring to kill husband in the Bahamas, granted $100,000 bail
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Hande Atay Alam | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Lindsay Shiver, 36, of Thomasville, Georgia, is accused of unsuccessfully conspiring with two Bahamas natives to kill her husband, Robert Shiver, on July 16 while on the Abaco Islands. Bail for Lindsay Shiver was set at $100,000, her defense attorney, Ian Cargill, said. Lindsay Shiver and two suspected co-conspirators have been in custody at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services since their arrest last week. Lindsay and Robert Shiver both attended Auburn University and live in Thomasville, according to social media posts. Lindsay Shiver’s filing says she “incurred debt beyond her means to pay” and asks that Robert Shiver be made to pay.

Persons: Lindsay Shiver, Robert Shiver, Bail, Ian Cargill, Cargill, Terrance Adrian Bethel, Farron Newbold Jr, Lindsay, Lindsay Shiver’s, “, Richard Shiver Organizations: CNN, Bahamas Department of Correctional Services, Bahamian Supreme Court, Police, Auburn University, Auburn University football, NFL Locations: Bahamas, Thomasville , Georgia, Abaco, Thomasville, Thomas County , Georgia

☆ Bahamas promises to join Kenya in security force in Haiti as support grows
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks about the Black Sea grain corridor outside U.N. Security Council at U.N. headquarters in New York City, U.S., July 17, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File PhotoAug 1 (Reuters) - The Bahamian government on Tuesday welcomed Kenya's decision to lead a multinational force in Haiti and committed 150 people to support the effort if the United Nations authorizes the force. "The Bahamas has committed 150 persons to support the multi-national force once authorized by the United Nations Security Council," the ministry said in a statement. It added the Bahamas looks "forward to cooperating with hemispheric partners including the United States and Canada." U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday commended Kenya for "considering to serve as the lead nation" for the multinational force and expressed support for its authorization from a UN Security Council Resolution.

Persons: Antonio Guterres, Brendan McDermid, Kenya's, General Antonio Guterres, Alfred Mutua, Antony Blinken, Haiti's, Ariel Henry, Brendan O'Boyle, Jasper Ward, Anthony Esposito, Chris Reese Organizations: Security, REUTERS, Bahamian, United Nations, United Nations Security Council, Kenyan Foreign, UN Security, American States, Haitian, Thomson Locations: U.N, New York City, U.S, Haiti, Bahamas, Kenya, United States, Canada, Washington, Jasper

☆ Georgia woman Lindsay Shiver arrested in the Bahamas for conspiring to have husband murdered
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Anneclaire Stapleton Nick Valencia Kevin Conlon Royston Jones | Anneclaire Stapleton | Nick Valencia | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Lindsay Shiver, 36, of Thomasville, Georgia, is accused of conspiring with two Bahamas natives, 28-year-old Terrance Adrian Bethel and 29-year-old Farron Newbold Jr., to kill her husband, Robert Shiver, according to court documents. Lindsay and Robert Shiver both attended Auburn University and live in Thomasville, according to social media posts. The filing from Lindsay Shiver says she “incurred debt beyond her means to pay” and asks that Robert Shiver be made to pay. Lindsay and Robert Shiver live in Thomasville, according to social media posts. Robert Shiver works as an insurance executive in Thomasville, according to a company website.

Persons: Lindsay Shiver, Terrance Adrian Bethel, Farron Newbold Jr, Robert Shiver, Newbold Jr, Lindsay, Lindsay Shiver Husband, Lindsay Shiver’s, “, Richard Shiver Organizations: CNN, Prosecutors, Nassau . Police, Auburn University, Auburn University football team, NFL Locations: American, Bahamas, Thomasville , Georgia, Abaco, Bethel, Nassau ., Thomasville, Thomas County , Georgia

☆ US Navy video shows Iranian ship open fire at a merchant tanker that it was trying to capture
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Iranian naval ships tried to seize two oil tankers crossing Middle Eastern waters on Wednesday. The US Navy said in one incident, Iranian personnel opened fire on one of the commercial ships. The Iranian vessel tried to get the Richmond Voyager to stop, and reached within a mile of the tanker. The US Navy said Iranian personnel then "fired multiple, long bursts from both small arms and crew-served weapons" at the tanker, with several rounds hitting the hull. Unclassified US Navy drone footage shows the Iranian ship open fire at the Richmond Voyager, with some rounds ricocheting, shown in the video as small flashes above the tanker.

Persons: —, TRF Moss, Brad Cooper, Cooper, Biden Organizations: US Navy, Service, US Naval Forces Central Command, Bahamian, Richmond, Richmond Voyager, Navy, Fleet, Combined Maritime Forces, US, US Air Force Locations: Marshall, Gulf of Oman, Iranian, Oman, Hormuz, Iran, Washington, Yemen, Tehran, Syria

☆ U.S. withdraws new charges in Sam Bankman-Fried case, punts them to 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Federal prosecutors asked a judge on Thursday to remove five charges against alleged crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried, including bribery of a foreign government official, after a Bahamas court ruling cast doubt on whether the U.S. government had followed the correct procedure for bringing the charges against the former billionaire. Bankman-Fried's legal team had previously argued before both U.S. and Bahamanian judges that the charges were not part of the FTX founder's original indictment under which he had been extradited from the Bahamas months earlier. A Bahamian judge said they would review Bankman-Fried's arguments earlier this week, prompting the request from federal prosecutors. The severance means that Bankman-Fried's legal team will likely now have to gird for two legal fights: one to try the original eight-count indictment later this year, and another in 2024, for the five counts that federal prosecutors have asked to sever. Bankman-Fried has entered a plea of not guilty and is expected to be tried later this year.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Damian Williams, Bankman, Fried Organizations: U.S ., U.S Locations: Bahamas, U.S

NEW YORK, June 9 (Reuters) - Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX received court permission on Friday to remove customer names from all filings in its bankruptcy case, persuading a U.S. judge that publishing the names would put people at risk of scams and identity theft. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey in Wilmington, Delaware, ruled that FTX can permanently redact the names of individual customers from its bankruptcy filings, after hearing testimony that publishing customers' names would place them at risk even if other identifying information like their email address was kept secret. In January, Dorsey had allowed FTX to keep secret the names of 9 million of its individual customers for three months. On Friday, Dorsey also authorized FTX to remove the names of companies and institutional investors from its customer lists on a temporary basis, saying FTX will have to make a new request in 90 days. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and several company insiders have been indicted on fraud charges for their role in the company's collapse.

Persons: FTX, John Dorsey, Dorsey, liquidators, Sam Bankman, Dietrich Knauth, Alexia Garamfalvi, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: YORK, FTX's, Bahamian, FTX, Thomson Locations: U.S, Wilmington , Delaware, Bahamas, Delaware

Dorsey questioned the value of a Bahamian court ruling during a Thursday court hearing in Wilmington, Delaware, saying that he would retain authority over the $7 billion in assets recovered by the U.S. debtors no matter what the Bahamian court rules. "It doesn't go to FTX Digital until I say it goes to FTX Digital," Dorsey said. The sides offered very different descriptions of how important FTX Digital was to the crypto exchange's operations. A court ruling in their favor could place the Bahamian company, and not the U.S. debtors, in charge of collecting assets and deciding how to distribute them to FTX customers. The case is FTX Trading, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, No.

Persons: John Dorsey, Dorsey, Chris Shore, Sam Bankman, Bankman, Fried's, Andy Dietderich, Brian Glueckstein, James Bromley of Sullivan, Cromwell, Chris Shore of, FTX, Dietrich Knauth Organizations: U.S, FTX's U.S, FTX Digital, FTX, Bahamian, Bankruptcy, District of, Chris Shore of White, Thomson, & & $ Locations: Delaware, Bahamas, Wilmington , Delaware, U.S, Hong Kong, District of Delaware

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced ex-CEO of FTX, is trying to dismiss 10 out of 13 criminal charges against him
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

SBF, the disgraced ex-CEO of FTX is trying to dismiss 10 out of 13 criminal charges against him. His lawyers said the US government had brought the original indictment against SBF in a "classic rush to judgment." Fallen FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried has asked a US judge to dismiss 10 out of 13 criminal charges against him over the crypto exchange's collapse. The US government also added new charges against Bankman-Fried that "alleged criminal conduct far beyond the Original Indictment and which are improperly brought," his lawyers added. Bankman-Fried's lawyers added that the broad market rout in 2022 had also hit many other crypto exchanges.

☆ FBI searches the $4 million home of former FTX exec Ryan Salame, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ryan Salame was the co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, FTX's Bahamian subsidiary. The FBI searched the home of the former co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, Ryan Salame, on Thursday morning, The New York Times reported. FTX Digital Markets was the Bahamian subsidiary of Sam Bankman-Fried's fallen crypto exchange, FTX. Prosecutors allege Bankman-Fried funneled $100 million in political donations through FTX executives, which allowed him to exceed contribution limits. The FBI and a lawyer for Salame did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, sent outside US working hours.

☆ F.B.I. Searches Home of Top FTX Executive
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Matthew Goldstein | David Yaffe-Bellany | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

carried out a search on Thursday morning at the Potomac, Md., home of Ryan Salame, a former FTX executive who was a major campaign contributor to Republican political candidates, two people with knowledge of the matter said. Mr. Salame, who ran FTX’s Bahamian subsidiary, was part of the close circle of advisers around Sam Bankman-Fried, the cryptocurrency exchange’s founder, before the firm filed for bankruptcy in November. Federal prosecutors have charged Mr. Bankman-Fried with orchestrating a vast fraud and illegal campaign finance scheme at FTX. Mr. Salame has been under particular scrutiny over the $24 million in campaign contributions he made during last year’s midterm elections. In court filings, federal authorities have claimed that most of the $90 million contributed to political candidates by a handful of former FTX employees, including Mr. Salame, had been misappropriated from customers of the exchange.

Companies FTX Trading Limited FollowMarch 20 (Reuters) - Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX on Sunday sued the liquidators overseeing the wind-down of its Bahamian affiliate FTX Digital Markets, accusing them of wrongly claiming ownership of the exchange's assets. FTX called FTX DM a "fraudulent enterprise", initially set up only to be a "local service company", which did not own the FTX.com exchange or any of the cryptocurrency seized. FTX has been at odds with Bahamian officials ever since filing for bankruptcy protection on Nov. 11. The Securities Commission of the Bahamas began liquidation proceedings against FTX DM a day before the U.S. bankruptcy filing of FTX Trading and more than 100 affiliates, and the two sides have sparred over ownership of FTX assets and access to company data. FTX reported this month that Bankman-Fried took $2.2 billion in funds from the company during a period when the crypto exchange lost $8 billion of customer money.

☆ SBF funneled $100 million in political donations for 'woke shit' and to Republicans through 2 executives to appear bipartisan, prosecutors say in new indictment
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Sam Bankman-Fried put political donations through two FTX execs to appear bipartisan, prosecutors say. An internal Alameda spreadsheet noted over $100 million in political contributions, according to the filing. A CNBC analysis of his political contributions beginning in 2020 found he donated more than $13 million to causes affiliated with the Democratic party. CC-1, prosecutors wrote, ultimately became on-paper "one of the largest Democratic donors in the 2022 midterm elections and helped further Bankman-Fried's political agenda." Bankman-Fried preferred to "keep contributions to Republicans 'dark'," but was the real engine behind CC-2's donations to the GOP, prosecutors wrote.

☆ Top House Republicans scrutinize SEC investigation of failed crypto exchange FTX
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Rep. Patrick McHenry, a Republican of North Carolina and ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, speaks during a hearing in Washington, D.C.Top House Republicans on Friday sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission as Congress scrutinizes the agency's actions against Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Bankman-Fried was scheduled to testify before the committee on Dec. 13, a day after he was arrested by Bahamian officials. FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and Bankman-Fried stepped down as its CEO in November. The committee's request comes a week after McHenry announced the panel will examine certain so-called overreaches by financial oversight agencies. The Financial Services Committee requested communications between the SEC's enforcement division, specifically its director, Gurbir Grewal; communications among Gensler's direct staff and records and communications between SEC and the Justice Department over the last few months by 5 p.m. on Feb. 23.

☆ The FTX meltdown was so chaotic that Caroline Ellison was reportedly 'relieved' to step away from Alameda
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The end of FTX followed a destabilizing exodus of customers and employees, Financial Times reports. As last-ditch efforts failed, Caroline Ellison reportedly felt "relieved" at an end to the chaos. In the meantime, there are still questions about how the parallel criminal cases could affect FTX customers trying to recover funds through the bankruptcy. Lawyers representing FTX and its creditors had previously told a Delaware bankruptcy court that they were trying to get information about transactions including FTX from insiders including Bankman-Fried and Ellison, but hadn't gotten answers. Read more in the full Financial Times feature on FTX's collapse.

[1/4] Former FTX Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried, who faces fraud charges over the collapse of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, departs from his court hearing at a federal court in New York City's Manhattan, U.S. January 3, 2023. REUTERS/David Dee Delgado/Feb 8 (Reuters) - Failed crypto firm FTX received court approval on Wednesday to issue subpoenas to its founder Sam Bankman-Fried and members of his family as part of the company's investigation into "misappropriated and stolen" funds. FTX said in court papers filed Wednesday that most of the subpoena targets had begun cooperating with its investigation. FTX said that it is still in discussions with Ellison and that Sam Bankman-Fried "remains non-responsive." Mind the Gap has previously said that Sam Bankman-Fried did not make any direct contributions to the organization but did donate to some of its recommended programs.

☆ Prosecutors say Sam Bankman-Fried tried to obscure his crimes with Robinhood’s stock
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Kara Scannell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Federal prosecutors said FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s efforts to control about $500 million worth of Robinhood shares last year indicates steps the former crypto entrepreneur has taken to “obscure” his alleged crimes. In a letter to Judge Lewis Kaplan involving Bankman-Fried’s bail, prosecutors argued he should still be prevented from moving FTX assets. Prosecutors want to limit who Bankman-Fried can be in touch with from FTX and its sister hedge fund Alameda Research. Bankman-Fried’s lawyers asked for the limitations of his contact with FTX assets be lifted since prosecutors have not proven he was behind a mysterious transfer. Correction: A previous version of this article provided the wrong date for the judge to unpause his Monday ruling.

FTX said in a court filing in Wilmington, Delaware, late on Wednesday that the DOJ's proposed review would only add cost and delay to its bankruptcy case. As part of its own investigation, FTX asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey, who is overseeing its Chapter 11 proceedings, to help it secure documents from Bankman-Fried, members of his family and other insiders with information about FTX transactions that used "misappropriated and stolen" funds. FTX is also seeking information about political donations by Mind the Gap, a political action committee founded by Barbara Fried, and Guarding Against Pandemics, an advocacy organization founded by Sam Bankman-Fried and his brother, Gabriel Bankman-Fried. The U.S. Department of Justice's bankruptcy watchdog has called for an independent investigation into its collapse, a request that received backing from a bipartisan group of U.S. senators. Sam Bankman-Fried, who has been accused of stealing billions of dollars from FTX customers to pay debts incurred by his crypto-focused hedge fund, has pleaded not guilty to fraud charges.

Federal prosecutors seized nearly $700 million in cash and assets connected to Sam Bankman-Fried, primarily in the form of Robinhood shares that were owned by the FTX founder, a court filing revealed Friday. Bankman-Fried was arrested on criminal fraud charges in December and is released on a $250 million bond as he awaits trial. Federal prosecutors have alleged that the Robinhood shares were purchased using allegedly stolen customer funds. Bankman-Fried has denied misappropriating customer assets. Those three Binance accounts were the only seized assets that did not have values attached to them.

☆ An FTX executive flagged worries about Alameda Research's use of customer funds to Sam Bankman-Fried as early as 2020, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A senior FTX exec raised concerns about Alameda Research's use of customer funds as early as 2020. CEO Sam Bankman-Fried dismissed the concerns saying the funds were backed by FTX's cryptocurrency, FTT. This information, the Times reports the governments documents as saying, led the executive to believe Alameda was "inappropriately using FTX.com customer funds," and to take that information to Bankman-Fried. Bankman-Fried dismissed the concerns, the Times report says, because the money was backed by FTX's cryptocurrency, FTT. Insider previously reported how the Securities and Exchange Commission's complaint against SBF revealed that Alameda's FTX account had special treatment.

☆ A Carnival cruise to the Bahamas became a 'cruise to nowhere' after inclement weather kept passengers stuck onboard the entire trip
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Windy weather forced a Carnival cruise ship to cancel its only planned port stop earlier this month. Passengers onboard received partial refunds and compensation for the unexpected cancellation. Passenger Kat O'Donnell told Insider the decision was disappointing. "It was the first time either one of us have ever gone out of the country," she told Insider. The Carnival Sunshine cruise ship docked in South Carolina in March 2020.

☆ FTX says $415 million in crypto was hacked
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The logo of FTX is seen at the entrance of the FTX Arena in Miami, Florida, U.S., November 12, 2022. REUTERS/Marco BelloJan 17 (Reuters) - Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX said in a report to creditors on Tuesday that about $415 million in cryptocurrency had been stolen as a result of hacks. Some $323 million in crypto had been hacked from FTX's international exchange and $90 million had been hacked from its U.S. exchange since it filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11, CEO John Ray said in a separate statement on Tuesday. FTX told a bankruptcy judge in Delaware last week that it had recovered over $5 billion in crypto, cash and liquid securities, nine weeks after declaring bankruptcy. The crypto assets recovered to date include $685 million in Solana, $529 million in FTX's proprietary FTT token and $268 million in bitcoin, based on crypto prices on Nov. 11, 2022.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried says he sometimes worked at the offices of the lawyers now investigating FTX after criticism of their past links
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Law firm Sullivan & Cromwell has been criticized for its involvement in FTX's bankruptcy having worked with the crypto exchange before. In a Substack Thursday, however, Sam Bankman-Fried said he sometimes worked out of the firm's New York offices. He added that he believes FTX customers could have been reimbursed if it didn't file for bankruptcy. Andrew Dietderich, of Sullivan & Cromwell, told the court that line of credit was used to fund political donations and lavish purchases. Sullivan & Cromwell did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, sent outside normal working hours.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried's trading firm borrowed $65 billion from FTX via a 'secret backdoor' to fund donations and a luxury lifestyle, bankruptcy court hears
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Bankruptcy lawyers revealed Sam Bankman-Fried's Alameda had access to $65 billion from FTX. The customer loans were made available via a backdoor created by FTX cofounder Gary Wang, they said. It was $65 billion." Dietderich told the court that with the $65 billion back door, Alameda "bought planes, houses, threw parties, made political donations." The court heard how FTX had so far recovered $5 billion of cash, crypto, and securities, with "plans to monetize over 300 other non-strategic investments" worth $4.6 billion.

☆ George Santos took campaign donation from an Italian who was caught smuggling undocumented migrants into the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

George Santos accepted a campaign contribution from an Italian people smuggler, per The Daily Beast. Rocco Oppedisano was caught trying to smuggle 14 undocumented migrants into the US in 2019. Oppedisano's family runs a restaurant to which Santos' campaign has made some unusual payments. The donation also raised the spotlight on other questionable financial conduct related to Santos, Oppedisano, and Oppedisano's family members. Rocco Oppedisano's brother Joseph, and niece Tina, run an Italian restaurant in Little Neck, New York, The Beast reported.

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