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☆ The Justice Department just shut down little-known crypto exchange Bitzlato and arrested its Russian founder in what authorities claim is a huge blow to crypto crime
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Bitzlato is a little-known crypto exchange that was just shut down by the Justice Department. FBI agents arrested Anatoly Legkodymov, the founder of crypto exchange Bitzlato, on Tuesday. US authorities alleged that the site laundered millions tied to illicit Russian finances. The Justice Department and Treasury Department allege that the Hong Kong-registered platform laundered more than $700 million, some of which were tied to illicit Russian finances. Bitzlato is a small crypto exchange, which hasn't received mainstream attention until Legkodymov's arrest.

WASHINGTON, Jan 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court is set on Tuesday to hear arguments over a bid by Turkey's state-owned lender Halkbank (HALKB.IS) to avoid criminal charges in the United States for allegedly helping Iran evade economic sanctions. The justices are weighing Halkbank's appeal of a lower court's ruling in favor of the U.S. government that allowed the prosecution of the bank to proceed. The case tests Halkbank's contention that it is shielded from prosecution because, as an entity majority owned by the Turkish government, it has sovereign immunity. Halkbank's case has complicated U.S.-Turkish relations, with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan calling the 2019 American charges against the bank an "unlawful, ugly" step. They also said Halkbank helped Iran secretly transfer $20 billion of restricted funds, with at least $1 billion laundered through the U.S. financial system.

☆ Steve Bannon has ghosted his 'We Build The Wall' defense lawyers for months in what prosecutors calls a delay tactic
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Steve Bannon was in Manhattan court Thursday for a hearing in his border wall charity scam case. His lawyers told the judge that Bannon has refused to talk to them for months. David Schoen, one of Bannon's current lawyers, asked the judge to let him and another lawyer, John Mitchell, stop representing Bannon immediately. At the court conference, Schoen told Judge Juan Merchan that Bannon was no longer speaking with him or Mitchell. Merchan said the Manhattan District Attorney's office should "set aside" discovery evidence for whichever lawyers Bannon hired.

☆ U.S. court sentences ex-Bolivian interior minister to 6 years in bribery scheme
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 4 (Reuters) - A federal U.S. court sentenced former Bolivian Interior Minister Arturo Murillo to nearly six years behind bars on Wednesday for conspiracy to commit money laundering, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement. Murillo was sentenced to 70 months in prison in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Another former Bolivian official and three Americans were sentenced in the United States last June after they also pleaded guilty to roles in the same scheme, the department said. Bolivia's government has requested Murillo's extradition to Bolivia, where he faces a host of criminal charges. "Justice has spoken in the United States.

☆ A global drug cartel used Binance to launder millions, the DEA says. Here's how the world's largest crypto exchange is reportedly working with investigators to track them down.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A global drug cartel allegedly used Binance to launder tens of millions, an ongoing DEA investigation alleges. Roughly $15 million to $40 million in illicit profits could have been funneled through Binance, according to Forbes, which obtained a search warrant. Here's how the largest crypto exchange in the world is reportedly working with investigators. Between $15 million to $40 million has been laundered through the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, according to Forbes, citing a search warrant it obtained. Binance, which announced plans earlier this year to buy a minority stake in Forbes, is working with investigators to help track down suspects.

☆ Police in China arrest gang who laundered $1.7 billion via crypto even after Beijing's crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The gang are said to have used various different cryptocurrency trading accounts to convert the money back into Chinese yuan. Police in China arrested 63 people accused of laundering as much as 12 billion Chinese yuan ($1.7 billion) via cryptocurrency, amid Beijing's intense crackdown on the trading of digital coins. The authorities said more than 130 million Chinese yuan worth of proceeds was confiscated from the gang. Chinese users have typically turned to overseas-based exchanges to trade cryptocurrencies, but this became harder as the crackdown from authorities intensified last year. The authorities said two of the suspects had fled to Bangkok, Thailand, but were persuaded to return to China.

☆ Feds charge 21 people in global crypto money laundering bust
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A member of the US Secret Service speaks on a cellphone as US President-elect Donald Trump attends meetings at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, November 10, 2016. The charges were unsealed as part of "Operation Crypto Runner," which was established by U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston of the Eastern District of Texas, the Secret Service and the U.S. We are committed to bringing each of the remaining perpetrators to justice," Secret Service Special Agent William Smarr said. "This case proves that we can track these people down and charge them," Secret Service Resident Agent in Charge Bill Mack told CNBC's Eamon Javers. The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas also shared further details about some of the individuals named in indictments or who had pled guilty.

☆ Ether falls as the FTX hacker dumps $74 million worth of the token and swaps it for bitcoin
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ether fell as much as 7% Monday as the hacker who looted FTX began dumping tokens. Over the last week, the hacker gradually converted the stolen FTX funds to ether, CoinDesk reported. About $74 million of ether has been laundered into bitcoin using RenBridge, CNBC reports. Elliptic's cofounder, Tom Robinson, told CNBC Monday that hackers were converting the ether into bitcoin using a blockchain bridge product called RenBTC. Per the report, roughly $74 million has been moved to bitcoin from RenBTC so far.

☆ Social media influencer ‘Hushpuppi’ sentenced to 11 years in prison over money laundering conspiracy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

LOS ANGELES — A Nigerian social media influencer who called himself Ray Hushpuppi and flaunted a lavish lifestyle fueled by his efforts to launder millions of stolen dollars was sentenced Monday in Los Angeles to more than 11 years in federal prison. In 2019, he helped launder some $14.7 million stolen by North Korean hackers from a bank in Malta, funneling the money through banks in Romania and Bulgaria, prosecutors said. His social media posts showed him living a life of luxury, complete with private jets, ultra-expensive cars and high-end clothes and watches. He pleaded guilty in 2020 to one count of conspiracy to engage in money laundering, prosecutors said. He was sentenced to nearly 12 years in federal prison and was ordered to pay more than $30 million in restitution.

BAMBERG, S.C. — Pamela Pinckney was in the hospital, bruised and in pain from several broken bones, when a lawyer named Alex Murdaugh offered his help. Pinckney estimates Murdaugh and his alleged co-conspirators pocketed $1 million owed to her family. Pamela Pinckney remained hospitalized as she endured several operations. Alex Murdaugh told me and my entire Pinckney family that he has our best interests, we don’t have anything to worry about and we’re like family to him,” Pinckney said. Alex Murdaugh is escorted out of the Collation County Courthouse in Walterboro, S.C., on July 20, 2022.

☆ Crypto Advocacy Group Sues U.S. Treasury Over Tornado Cash Sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Mengqi Sun | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

A cryptocurrency research and advocacy group has filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Treasury Department’s sanctions against cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash. In August, OFAC imposed sanctions on Tornado Cash, a currency mixer that enables users to co-mingle their funds in order to obfuscate ownership. OFAC accused Tornado Cash of laundering billions of dollars in virtual currency, including $455 million allegedly stolen by North Korean hackers. In September, however, OFAC clarified that the sanctions placed on Tornado Cash don’t prohibit U.S. individuals or businesses from interacting with open-source code itself, as long as it doesn’t involve a prohibited transaction with the Tornado Cash platform. The Coinbase suit also argues that these sanctions exceed Treasury’s statutory authority and infringe on the plaintiffs’ constitutional right to privacy.

☆ Justice Department Money-Laundering Team Names Leaders as Ukraine War Raises Its Profile
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Dylan Tokar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

The Justice Department on Tuesday named two veteran prosecutors to lead its money-laundering and asset-recovery section. Brent Wible, a veteran federal prosecutor whose latest stint at the Justice Department began in May 2020, has been appointed the section’s new chief, a Justice Department spokesman said. The Justice Department earlier this year announced the formation of an interagency task force dedicated to enforcing sanctions and other economic countermeasures imposed on Russia, dubbed Task Force KleptoCapture. The money-laundering section’s international unit has worked closely with the task force, officials say. Justice Department leaders have said the agency intends to pay closer attention to victims’ rights when resolving cases of corporate crime.

☆ Ex-Barbados Official Loses Appeal of Bribe Laundering Conviction
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-05 | by ( Richard Vanderford | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

A former Barbados government official has lost an appeal to overturn a U.S. conviction for laundering bribes connected to insurance contracts through a New York business. Though Mr. Inniss contested the charges at trial, on appeal his lawyer didn’t argue over whether the bribery occurred. Instead, he tried to argue that the conduct wasn’t technically money laundering because Mr. Inniss didn’t launder the money after it was sent from the dental business. The appeals court also rejected arguments from Mr. Inniss that the jury instructions were faulty. Mr. Inniss is incarcerated in a prison outside Detroit and scheduled to be released in January, according to Federal Bureau of Prisons records.

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