DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Haitians seen crushing into migration centers seeking passports to U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] Haitians gather outside an immigration office looking for turns to apply for a passport days after Haiti police blocked streets and broke into the airport during a protest demanding justice for fellow police officers killed by armed gangs, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti February 2, 2023. REUTERS/Ricardo ArduengoPORT-AU-PRINCE, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Haitians desperate for passports to apply for a U.S. migration program crowded local migration centers, according to videos shared on social media on Friday, crushing through small doorways and scaling the outside of stairways. Videos from Haiti's Lalue migration office and an improvised center at a sports facility in the capital Port-au-Prince show people climbing on railings of stairs and being crushed as they fight their way through crowds, clutching document envelopes. The move comes as the country expands Trump-era restrictions to rapidly expel migrants caught illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border on foot. Reporting by Harold Isaac in Port-au-Prince and Sarah Morland in Mexico City; Editing by Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Crypto's core technology has a legitimacy problem. The founder of VC firm Dao5 is seeking to shore up its cred by working with university researchers.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( April Joyner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Tekin Salimi, the founder of the VC firm Dao5, sources many of his deals through academic research. Salimi's venture capital firm, Dao5, counts several university professors among its advisors and has backed several startups founded by academics. His budding interest in crypto eventually brought him to Silicon Valley, where he joined the crypto VC firm Polychain Capital in 2018. When he left Polychain to launch Dao5 last year, Salimi sought to build academic research into the firm's deal-sourcing process. Dao5 cut ties with Kwon after the collapse, and he never had any financial involvement in the firm, Salimi said.

☆ The criminal case against Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison could put jilted FTX customers in the backseat
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The parallel criminal case against SBF, Caroline Ellison, and Gary Wang may be to blame. But they told a Delaware bankruptcy court recently that they hit a roadblock, accusing Sam Bankman-Fried and those close to him of not playing ball with them. The criminal case takes priorityEllison and Wang separately reached plea deals with federal prosecutors in Manhattan, copping to charges including wire fraud and conspiracy. But, experts told Insider, the deals require them to focus on working with prosecutors in the criminal case — even if it could be at the expense of other parties. But when both criminal and civil proceedings are ongoing, it's the criminal case that goes first in line, Snyder said.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried-linked townhouse in Washington, DC, goes on sale for $3.28 million after hosting political gatherings with vegan-heavy menus
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A $3.28 million Washington, DC, townhome with ties to Sam Bankman-Fried was listed for sale, reports say. The 4,100 square-foot property has hosted political gatherings that featured vegan-heavy menus, per the NY Post. Federal prosecutors have seized $700 million in assets and cash connected to Bankman-Fried, court filings show. This stately abode is a great Washington DC charmer in the highly desirable Capitol Hill neighborhood. Meanwhile, Bankman-Fried is under house arrest at his parents' $4 million property in Palo Alto, California, as he awaits his October trial to begin.

Travel insurance weekly rates at a glance:Average premium: $270.13Average trip cost: $5,793.35Average trip length: 16 daysGet your free travel insurance quote with SquareMouth »What is travel insurance? See Insider's picks for the best travel insurance »Some credit cards offer a limited amount of travel insurance annually. Insider's Featured Travel Insurance Companies World Nomads Travel InsuranceAllianz Travel InsuranceTravelex travel insurance Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. When calculating your travel insurance premium, travel insurance providers consider the likelihood of a medical emergency. Insider's Featured Travel Insurance Companies World Nomads Travel InsuranceAllianz Travel InsuranceTravelex travel insurance Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options.

☆ 5 cruise workers reveal the best and worst parts of their jobs — from in the kitchen to on stage
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Hannah Towey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Most jobs onboard cruise ships require grueling hours, cramped cabins, and no days off. Insider talked to 5 cruise workers about the best and worst parts of their jobs. Insider spoke with five cruise ship workers including a dancer, musician, chef, and photographer about the best and worst parts of their jobs. And nearly all cruise workers — with entertainers being a notable exception — do not have protected days off until their contract is complete. For many, the unique jobs available on cruise ships are a more intriguing alternative to 9-to-5 desk jobs.

☆ The house that helped secure Sam Bankman-Fried's $250 million bail package reportedly sits on land his parents leased from Stanford
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Sam Bankman-Fried's parents lease the land for their home from Stanford, the LA Times reports. They'd put up the $4 million home as collateral for the former FTX CEO's $250 million bail release. Bail terms are about flight-risk rather than if collateral can cover the full amount, legal experts said. The revelation once again prompts questions about how and why courts set bail terms, which are meant to ensure that a defendant doesn't flee while awaiting trial. Prosecutors are now also arguing that Bankman-Fried's bail restrictions must go further, and impose limits on whom he communicates with and how.

☆ Anthony Scaramucci says he bought Sam Bankman-Fried a suit for their Middle East fundraising tour and that the trip sparked FTX's downfall
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Sam Bankman-Fried and Anthony Scaramucci went on a Middle East fundraising tour in October. Scaramucci told Insider he bought SBF a suit so the FTX CEO wouldn't wear a T-shirt with investors. Scaramucci told Insider he bought the then-FTX CEO a suit from Bloomingdale's to help impress investors. "I bought him a suit, frankly, to take him to the Middle East with me and told him he can't dress with a T-shirt in the Middle East," Scaramucci told Insider. "So in some ways, I'm happy that we took that trip because we could still be living in a world of FTX," Scaramucci said.

☆ FTX wants to ask Sam Bankman-Fried's parents and brother if they received any money from the crypto exchange
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Court documents show FTX aims to question Sam Bankman-Fried's parents and brother about their personal wealth, per Bloomberg. The family should provide financial documents about any money they may have received from the company, FTX lawyers said. The bankruptcy judge still has to approve the request before FTX lawyers can move forward. Both of Bankman-Fried's parents have been involved with the company. In addition, Reuters reported in November that a $16.4 million house in the Bahamas listed Bankman-Fried's parents as signatories and was described in property records as a "vacation home."

☆ Veteran cruise-goer says Carnival's inadvertent 'cruise to nowhere' dimmed her vacation dream of getting some peace and quiet on the boat
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Carnival Sunshine became a "cruise to nowhere" after windy weather kept the ship from docking. Longtime cruiser Margie Marsh told Insider she hadn't even planned to get off the boat in the first place. But the cancelled port stop challenged her efforts to seek peace and quiet onboard the ship. Another passenger onboard the Carnival Sunshine told Insider earlier this month that the cancellation was a massive disappointment for her family, all of whom were first-time cruise goers and international travelers. Cruise goers told Insider each stateroom also received a $100 onboard credit, as well as a voucher for money off a future cruise.

☆ For Sale in the Bahamas: An Oceanfront Home With Its Own Private Beach
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Libertina Brandt | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Be the first to know about the biggest and best luxury home sales and listings by signing up for our Mansion Deals email alert. An oceanfront home in the Bahamas is going on the market for $13.5 million.

Travel insurance weekly rates at a glance:Average premium: $301.00Average trip cost: $5,900.67Average trip length: 16 daysGet your free travel insurance quote with SquareMouth »What is travel insurance? Insider's Featured Travel Insurance Companies World Nomads Travel InsuranceAllianz Travel InsuranceTravelex travel insurance Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. Policy type Average days between purchase to trip Average trip length (days) Average trip cost Average cost of travel insurance Cancellation 53 13 $5,900.67 $362.99 Non-cancellation 16 21 N/A $94.70Source: SquareMouthWhen is the best time to travel? When calculating your travel insurance premium, travel insurance providers consider the likelihood of a medical emergency. Get your free travel insurance quote with SquareMouth »Travel Insurance Rates FAQsHow much does travel insurance cost?

☆ Feds seized nearly $700 million from FTX founder Bankman-Fried
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 20 (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors have seized nearly $700 million in assets from FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried in January, largely in the form of Robinhood stock, according to a Friday court filing. 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. The ownership of the seized Robinhood shares, valued at about $525 million, has been the subject of disputes between Bankman-Fried, FTX, and bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi. The DOJ seized more than $7 million from other Silvergate accounts associated with Bankman-Fried and FTX. The DOJ previously seized nearly $50 million from an FTX Digital Markets account at Moonstone Bank, a small bank in Washington state.

☆ A look at the companies behind the pricey 'Crypto Bowl' ads, then vs. now, as Super Bowl LVII approaches
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Super Bowl LVI was dubbed the "Crypto Bowl" after ads from crypto companies made a splash. The larger crypto industry suffered billions in losses in 2022, highlighted by the collapse of FTX. But in 2022, the game was dubbed the "Crypto Bowl," with FTX, Coinbase, Crypto.com, and eToro all debuting ads, along with Bud Light incorporating NFTs into its ad. Here's a look back at how the four companies who advertised during the last Super Bowl are doing now. Compared to FTX, other crypto companies that advertised during the Super Bowl had a remarkably stable year given volatility in the industry, but each had its troubles.

☆ The Fyre Festival fraudster is launching his latest thing, and it looks like a party on an island
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Jake Traylor | Jake Traylor Is An Associate Producer For Msnbc. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

He’s using different words, but he’s selling the same thing,” said Shiyuan Deng, a former product designer at Fyre Media, the company behind Fyre Festival. Deng resigned from Fyre Media shortly before it collapsed. Another former Fyre Media employee who asked to withhold their name out of concerns of retaliation also said PYRT reminded them of Fyre Festival. “The similarities are there around the vague mysterious promotion,’’ said the former employee of Fyre Media. McFarland said he believes PYRT will look considerably different from Fyre Festival.

☆ FTX recruited customers in Africa by signaling that crypto would protect them from soaring inflation, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

FTX promoted itself in Africa by signaling crypto would shield people's money from inflation, according to the Wall Street Journal. Many African currencies plummeted last year as the Federal Reserve's interest-rate hikes pushed the dollar higher. FTX also ran glamorous events for young Nigerians and offered all new customers a $5 sign-up bonus, the WSJ reported. African currencies like the Nigerian naira, the Ghanaian cedi, and the Malawian kwacha plunged against the dollar last year as the Federal Reserve's aggressive monetary tightening fueled capital outflows from developing markets. Before 2022, crypto bulls had long pitched digital currencies as a potential hedge against inflation in the developing world.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried had a 'security incident' when 3 men drove into a metal barricade outside his parents' multimillion Bay Area home, his lawyer said
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sam Bankman-Fried's lawyer said the ex-crypto mogul and his parents had been subjected to harassment and threats. This includes a recent "security incident" at his parents' Bay Area home, the lawyer said. "Recently, the Bankman-Frieds had a security incident at their home when a black car drove into the metal barricade set up outside their home," Everdell wrote. "This incident underscores the risk to the Bankman-Frieds' privacy and security," he said. In a filing from January 3, attorney Mark Cohen had said that Bankman-Fried's parents "have become the target of intense media scrutiny, harassment, and threats."

☆ Factbox: Crypto's string of bankruptcies
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

GENESIS GLOBAL CAPITALOne of the largest crypto lenders, Genesis froze customer redemptions in November after major exchange FTX stunned the financial world with its bankruptcy. Genesis Global Holdco, the parent group of Genesis Global Capital, also filed for bankruptcy protection, along with another lending unit, Genesis Asia Pacific. FTXThe Bahamas-based exchange shocked the crypto world by going bankrupt in November after suffering withdrawals of about $6 billion in just 72 hours and rival crypto exchange Binance ditched a possible rescue. CELSIUS NETWORKA crypto lender brought down by the collapse of terraUSD and luna, Celsius began its U.S. bankruptcy case on July 14. The U.S. affiliate of major crypto exchange Binance said in December it intends to buy Voyager's crypto lending platform in a deal valued at about $1 billion.

☆ A tiny rural bank which Alameda bought an $11.5 million stake in is giving up its crypto and weed ambitions to return to its community roots
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sam Bankman-Fried's Alameda research invested $11.5 million in Farmington State Bank last year. New owners planned to serve the crypto and cannabis industries, but are giving up after FTX's collapse. The New York Times reported last November that Sam Bankman-Fried's Alameda had bought an $11.5 million share in Farmington State Bank. Farmington State Bank was purchased in 2020 by FBH, a company owned by the "Inspector Gadget" co-creator Jean Chalopin. Alameda bought 10% of FBH for $11.5 million in January 2022, even though the bank had a net worth of $5.7 million at the time, according to The Times.

☆ 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 in my view now gets painted as a crypto problem. I think if you really peel enough onion layers, it's not really a crypto ... problem to happen here, it's fraud. "We talk about this as a crypto problem. But really, this is just fraud, and I think in some ways, not that dissimilar than Bernie Madoff," said Garlinghouse. "When Bernie Madoff occurred, we didn't totally restructure how we thought about oversight and regulation of hedge funds."

☆ It's been a wild time for tech implosions. We asked top PR experts to rank how well — or badly — the fallout has been managed.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

FTX: tied for first place 🥇Sam Bankman-Fried—pictured above leaving federal court in Manhattan— has been criticized by PR experts for giving too many interviews. David Dee Delgado/Getty ImagesSam Bankman-Fried's crypto empire began unraveling in November 2022, and left the world in shock. As the crisis continues to unfold, Bankman-Fried has been giving interviews to media outlets ranging from DealBook to Puck News. According to several PR experts that Insider spoke with, Bankman-Fried's media frenzy has been his biggest mistake. "With great legal minds behind him aka his PARENTS - surely someone was insisting he not do a press tour of ANY kind.

☆ In Africa, FTX Posed as Haven From Tumbling Currencies, Inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Alexandra Wexler | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Weeks before cryptocurrency exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy, dozens of young Nigerians in skintight dresses and brightly colored suits shimmied under limbo bars, posed for photos in front of the company’s logo and sipped expensive liquor at a swanky beachfront venue. The party in Lagos, Nigeria, was part of the Bahamas-based exchange’s push into Africa, where, in the final days before its implosion, FTX was aggressively recruiting new customers whose funds are now stuck in bankruptcy proceedings. U.S. prosecutors have charged FTX’s founder, Sam Bankman-Fried , with fraud for allegedly stealing billions of dollars of customer funds from FTX and of defrauding investors and lenders to his trading firm, Alameda Research. He has pleaded not guilty.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried says FTX's lawyers overlooked $428 million in cash – and the bankrupt crypto exchange has the funds to make US customers whole
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The collapsed crypto exchange's new bosses said FTX.US hasn't got enough funds to return customers' money. But Bankman-Fried pushed back and said they hadn't included $428 million of cash in the calculations. "Investigation has confirmed shortfalls at both International and US Exchanges," the exchange's lawyers Sullivan & Cromwell said in a presentation Tuesday. FTX.US filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November, alongside FTX International and its sister trading firm Alameda Research, among other companies under the FTX umbrella. Read more: FTX lost $415 million worth of crypto in hacker heists, the collapsed exchange's new bosses say

☆ FTX lost $415 million worth of crypto in hacker heists, the collapsed exchange's new bosses say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

FTX lost $415 million worth of crypto to hackers, its new bosses said Tuesday. "It has taken a Herculean investigative effort from our team to uncover this preliminary information," acting CEO John Ray said. Around $415 million of the assets for recovery had been lost in crypto hacks, FTX's new bosses said. Hackers stole $323 million from the Bahamas-based parent company FTX.com, $90 million from FTX, and $2 million from sister trading firm Alameda Research, according to the presentation. As well as the exchange's crypto and cash holdings, they identified $253 million worth of real estate in the Bahamas as potential assets for recovery in Tuesday's presentation.

Search resuls for: "Bahamas"

25 mentions found