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☆ Crypto must end anonymity for illicit finance, U.S. regulator says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, April 25 (Reuters) - Anonymity is allowing crypto assets to finance illegal activities, a top U.S. regulatory official said on Tuesday, posing national security risks that must be addressed. "It's essential for governments and particularly the industry to address that which makes crypto so attractive to illicit finance, and that is the allure of anonymity," she said. Legally compliant crypto companies should not be using "mixers" or software tools that effectively anonymise users by pooling and scrambling cryptocurrencies from thousands of addresses. Compliant crypto companies must show they have internal controls to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. "It's possible for all crypto companies to distance themselves from mixers and anonymity enhancing technology while still providing customers financial privacy," Romero said.

☆ North Korean bank official charged in crypto laundering conspiracies
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

On Monday, a Washington, D.C., district court unsealed two federal indictments charging a North Korean bank official for his alleged role in cryptocurrency laundering conspiracies. The alleged actions are in violation of current sanctions against North Korea by both the U.S. and United Nations. The recently unsealed indictments represent a broader pattern in recent years of North Korean workers using virtual private networks (VPNs) and other tools to illegally gain remote employment and redirect revenue to North Korea. Nearly every month so far this year, North Korea has run tests of its intercontinental ballistic missiles, the latest taking place in mid-April. "We will continue to work to disrupt and deter North Korean actors and those who aid them by following the money on the blockchain and shining a light on their conduct."

☆ North Korean hackers breach software firm in significant cyberattack
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Suspected North Korean hackers infiltrated a software firm that claims hundreds of thousands of customers around the world in a cyberattack that shows Pyongyang’s advanced hacking capabilities, private investigators said Thursday. But it’s the latest evidence that North Korean hackers are pulling out all the stops to break into organizations to steal or spy on them in support of dictator Kim Jong Un’s strategic interests. A recent CNN investigation found a rampant effort by North Korean hackers to steal cryptocurrency and launder it into hard cash that might help fund the regime’s weapon’s programs. Trading Technologies has not been able to verify Mandiant’s findings yet because the company just became aware of the issue last week, a spokesperson for Trading Technologies told CNN on Thursday. “What we do know with certainty is that 3CX is not a vendor or a customer of Trading Technologies,” the Trading Technologies spokesperson said.

The report - a collaboration between the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council and the university - found that the school developed and taught revisionist narratives intended to conceal the systemic harm perpetuated against Indigenous people. The University of Minnesota extracted vast amounts of wealth from tribes in the region, the project's research team said on Tuesday. The report urged the university to enact policies that benefit Indigenous people, including a combination of "reparations, truth-telling, policy change, and transformative justice processes." Robert Larsen, president of the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, said the report only scratched the surface of local history, which was mostly ignored in schools or not known to the general public. The University of Minnesota has over 50,000 students and 20,000 faculty and staff, according to its website.

The Lebanese bank did not respond to a message seeking comment. Bank statements seen by Reuters show how the Salameh accounts at AM Bank ballooned from $15 million in 1993 to more than $150 million by 2019. Lebanese prosecutors suspect the accounts, from which regular cash withdrawals were made, were used to conceal money laundering activity, a Lebanese judicial source said on Saturday. According to the lawyer, French prosecutors have summoned his client with a view of naming him a formal suspect. If French prosecutors suspected Salameh of wrongdoing, they could not hear him as a witness, Sur said.

☆ Italian drugs cartels conceal payments via Chinese shadow banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Emilio Parodi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

[1/3] Seized drugs are seen following an investigation on drugs cartels operating in Italy increasingly using shadow networks of unlicensed Chinese money brokers to launder their proceeds in this handout photo obtained by Reuters on April 4, 2023. Carabinieri/Handout via REUTERSMILAN, April 6 (Reuters) - Drugs cartels operating in Italy are increasingly using shadow networks of unlicensed Chinese money brokers to conceal cross-border payments, according to Italian judicial and law enforcement authorities. U.S. authorities have said Chinese “money brokers” represent one of the most worrisome new threats in their war on drugs, as a Reuters investigation in 2020 found. Chinese authorities have previously vowed to crackdown on underground banking. One of the first probes to come to light involving use of Chinese money brokers by Italian mobsters was linked to the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta group, one of the largest crime gangs in the world.

☆ U.S. says decentralized finance services being used for illicit transfers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, April 6 (Reuters) - North Korea, cybercriminals, ransomware attackers, thieves and scammers are using decentralized finance (DeFi) services to transfer and launder their illicit proceeds, the U.S. Treasury Department warned on Thursday. In a new illicit finance risk assessment on decentralized finance, the Treasury found that illicit actors are exploiting vulnerabilities in U.S. and foreign anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regulation and enforcement as well the technology underpinning the services. DeFi services that fail to comply with these obligations to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing pose the most significant illicit finance risk in this domain, the assessment found. "Our assessment finds that illicit actors, including criminals, scammers, and North Korean cyber actors are using DeFi services in the process of laundering illicit funds," the Treasury's Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian Nelson, said in the statement. Nelson added that the private sector should use the findings of the assessment to inform their risk mitigation strategies and to take steps to prevent illicit actors from using decentralized finance services.

[1/5] Grammy award-winning Fugees rapper Prakazrel (Pras) Michel, who is facing criminal charges in an alleged illegal lobbying campaign, arrives for opening arguments in his trial at U.S. District Court in Washington, U.S., March 30, 2023. "This is a case about foreign money, influence and concealment," Lockhart said during her opening statement in Washington on Thursday. "Through this scheme, the defendant duped the Obama campaign," Lockhart told the jury. For his work on these two lobbying campaigns on behalf of Low and China, prosecutors said Michel was paid $70 million. Low remains a fugitive in the Michel case.

☆ The FBI seized $40,000 a couple held in a deposit box 2 years ago, but won't say why and won't return their cash
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The FBI seized a couple's savings they held in a deposit box in a raid in March 2021. The couple were keeping $40,200 cash in their box and only found out about the raid on local news. "The FBI took my savings nearly two years ago but has never told me why," Linda Martin said in a press release. He added: "Then, the FBI sends copy-and-paste forfeiture notices that fail to tell owners anything about why it is trying to take their property. US Private Vaults shut down following the Beverly Hills raid and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder drug money.

NEW YORK, March 24 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Friday ordered former Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) banker Roger Ng to forfeit $35.1 million, after sentencing him to 10 years in prison for helping loot billions of dollars from Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund. Jho Low, a Malaysian financier and suspected mastermind of the scheme, was also indicted but remains at large. Goldman settled with authorities in October 2020, agreeing to pay $2.9 billion and having its Malaysian unit plead guilty to a corruption charge. Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is serving a 12-year prison sentence after being convicted in a Malaysian court of receiving $10 million from a former 1MDB unit. Reporting by Luc Cohen and Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Heading into a state election on Saturday, the conservative coalition has promised to rein in the powerful "pokies" industry in a jurisdiction with nearly one-tenth of the world's million machines, second only to Las Vegas. "This is the first time in our state's history ... that poker machine reform is actually an election issue," said Stu Cameron, CEO of Wesley Mission, a charity that supports the homeless, addicts and others. Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics"We are the epicenter of pokie machine addiction not just in Australia but across the world. McMillan, the air conditioning repairman, said cashless machines alone could not stop problem gambling, but "I would promote any change that could help people". Since then, a quarter of its 400 groups have taken grants from slot machine interests, Reuters' analysis of publicly available documents showed, in a sign of the industry's grassroots hold.

☆ Brazil police bust gang plot to attack authorities, public servants
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Brazilian senator Sergio Moro speaks during a session of the Federal Senate in Brasilia, Brazil March 22, 2023. "A murder plot against several public officials (among them a senator and a prosecutor) was investigated and identified. Sergio Moro, a former judge and current senator, also took to Twitter to confirm he and his family were targets in the gangs' plot. A government minister told Reuters that the plan was organized by the First Capital Command (PCC) gang and was not politically motivated. The federal police said 24 search and seizure warrants, seven preventive arrest warrants and four temporary arrest warrants are being served.

☆ ChipMixer Is Shut Down for Allegedly Laundering $3 Billion in Crypto
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Mengqi Sun | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

ChipMixer has been used to launder illicit funds gained from ransomware attacks, crypto heists and other types of fraud since 2017, the U.S. Justice Department has alleged. U.S. and European authorities took down cryptocurrency platform ChipMixer and charged its alleged operator, accusing it of laundering more than $3 billion of criminal proceeds, including $700 million allegedly stolen by North Korean hackers. ChipMixer has been a popular platform for laundering illicit funds gained from ransomware attacks, crypto heists and other types of fraud since 2017, the U.S. Justice Department alleged Wednesday. Mixers such as ChipMixer enable users to commingle their funds to obfuscate ownership.

☆ Cybercriminals' crypto platform ChipMixer taken down, says Europol
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, March 15 (Reuters) - Police and justice departments from around the world have taken down the cryptocurrency platform known as ChipMixer, which had been used by cybercriminals, Europe's Europol police agency said on Wednesday. Europol said it had supported German, U.S., Belgian, Polish and Swiss authorities in the dismantling of ChipMixer's infrastructure, which also resulted in as much as 40 million euros ($42.2 million) being seized. ChipMixer, an unlicensed cryptocurrency mixer set up in mid-2017, specialised in mixing or cutting trails related to virtual currency assets. The ChipMixer software hid the blockchain trail of the funds, making it attractive for cybercriminals looking to launder illegal proceeds from drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, ransomware attacks and payment card fraud, Europol said. ($1 = 0.9488 euros)Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Mark PortgerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Former Fox Executive Found Guilty in FIFA Bribery Scheme
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( James Fanelli | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Hernan Lopez is the former head of Fox International Channels, a subsidiary of 21st Century Fox. A New York federal jury found a former 21st Century Fox executive guilty of bribing FIFA officials for the broadcasting rights to lucrative soccer matches, but acquitted his former subordinate on the same charges. Hernan Lopez , the former head of subsidiary Fox International Channels, was convicted of conspiring to commit wire fraud and launder money, in a scheme to make tens of millions of dollars in illicit payments and kickbacks between 2000 and 2015 to South American soccer officials in exchange for the broadcasting rights to the region’s most popular club tournament, the Copa Libertadores, and other matches. His co-defendant, Carlos Martinez, was found not guilty of the two counts.

☆ Ex-Goldman banker Ng sentenced to 10 years in prison for 1MDB corruption case
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Ex-Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng exits the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse after being sentenced for his part helping embezzle from Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund, in Brooklyn, New York, March 9, 2023. Former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Thursday, after he was convicted of helping loot billions of dollars from Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund. The charges stem from some $6.5 billion in bonds that Goldman helped 1MDB, which was founded to finance development projects in Malaysia, sell in 2012 and 2013. U.S. prosecutors said $4.5 billion of that sum was embezzled by officials, bankers and their associates, in one of the biggest scandals in Wall Street history. Funds were used to buy high-end real estate, jewelry and artwork, and finance the Hollywood film, "The Wolf of Wall Street," according to the Department of Justice.

☆ Ex-Goldman banker sentenced to 10 years prison in 1MDB corruption case
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Former Prime Minister Najib Razak is serving a 12-year prison sentence after being convicted by a Malaysian court of receiving $10 million from a former 1MDB unit. He spent six months in a Malaysian prison before waiving his right to contest extradition to the United States in 2018. He pleaded guilty and testified against Ng as part of a cooperation agreement. Malaysian officials have said Low is in China, which Beijing denies. In October 2020, Goldman agreed to pay $2.9 billion and its Malaysian unit pleaded guilty to a corruption charge.

☆ 4 bankers have been accused of helping Putin launder $50 million through Switzerland via his cello-playing best friend
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A cellist is accused of helping Vladimir Putin channel $50 million into Swiss accounts. 4 bankers are also accused of not having checked the real source of the money. The deposits were made between 2014 and 2016 and there is no plausible explanation about where they came from, Swiss prosecutors say. In addition to the $50 million, Roldugin was planning on chanelling another $10 million annually into accounts, which prosecutors say "were in general no way plausible as Roldugin's own assets." Switzerland has put aside its traditional neutrality in conflicts to adopt the EU's sanctions against Putin, Roldugin, and other members of the Russian elite.

☆ Ex-Goldman banker Ng sentenced to 10 years prison in 1MDB corruption case
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

☆ Ex-Goldman banker Ng deserves 15 years in prison, US prosecutors say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In his own sentencing request on Feb. 25, Ng asked that he be given no prison time and be allowed to return to Malaysia. He had spent six months in a Malaysian prison before waiving his right to contest extradition to the United States in 2018. Prosecutors said $4.5 billion of that sum was embezzled by officials, bankers and their associates, in one of the biggest scandals in Wall Street history. In October 2020, Goldman agreed to pay $2.9 billion and its Malaysian unit pleaded guilty to a corruption charge. Leissner pleaded guilty and testified against Ng as part of a cooperation agreement.

☆ Ex-Goldman banker Roger Ng deserves 15 years in prison after 1MDB scandal, U.S. prosecutors say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Roger Ng, a former banker for Goldman Sachs Group, exits from federal court in New York, U.S. on May 6, 2019. In his own sentencing request on Feb. 25, Ng asked that he be given no prison time and be allowed to return to Malaysia. U.S. prosecutors on Friday urged a judge to sentence former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng to 15 years in prison after he was convicted of helping loot billions of dollars from Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund. In October 2020, Goldman agreed to pay $2.9 billion and its Malaysian unit pleaded guilty to a corruption charge. Leissner pleaded guilty and testified against Ng as part of a cooperation agreement.

Companies Goldman Sachs Group Inc FollowFeb 25 (Reuters) - Roger Ng, the former Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) banker convicted for helping to embezzle Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund, appealed to a New York court on Saturday not to force him to spend more time in prison. A federal jury in Brooklyn convicted Ng in April last year of conspiring to violate an anti-bribery law and commit money laundering. Reuters was not immediately able reach Malaysian prison officials to comment on the conditions. Prosecutors said that he helped his former boss Tim Leissner embezzle money from the fund, launder the proceeds and bribe officials to win business for Goldman. Reporting by Shivani Tanna and Chandni Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Jared Kushner's private equity firm concealed the origins of Saudi-backed funds and used the SEC's own rules to help them do it, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

In April 2022, The New York Times reported Jared Kushner received $2.5 billion in Saudi-backed funds. A new Washington Post report reveals how Kushner's company concealed the source of the funds. On an SEC form, a box reading "Sovereign wealth funds and foreign official institutions" was blank. In the form, Kushner lists Affinity as an "other business name." Kushner and his father-in-law, Trump, have received a fair share of scrutiny for their ties to the Saudi prince and his allies.

☆ Ex-Honduras president bribed by prominent family, U.S. prosecutors say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez was bribed by the country's prominent Rosenthal family, which owned a "massive" group of businesses in the Central American country, U.S. prosecutors said on Friday. Marlon Duarte, a lawyer for the Rosenthal family in Honduras, denied the allegations. The wealthy and politically connected Rosenthal family once controlled businesses including a soccer club, an automobile importer and one of the country's largest banks through their Grupo Continental conglomerate. Duarte noted that Hernandez was president when the Honduran government seized Grupo Continental's assets. "Juan Orlando Hernandez was against all the Rosenthals," Duarte told Reuters in a telephone interview, arguing that prosecutors would struggle to prove the family bribed Hernandez.

Summary Trickbot targeted hospitals during COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. saysSanctions could hit hackers' ability to move money-analystWASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The United States and Britain have imposed sanctions against seven leading members of a notorious Russian hacking gang known as Trickbot, officials announced on Friday. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the United States and Britain were "committed to using all available authorities to defend against cyber threats." Both Trickbot and Conti were accused by U.S. and British authorities of having ties to the Russian intelligence services. Sanctions tend to be largely symbolic given that Russia is already heavily sanctioned and cybercriminals based there tend to steer clear of the United States or Britain. He said that U.S. officials had been lobbying to get other countries to impose sanctions on cybercriminals.

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