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☆ Rep.-elect George Santos dodged reporters and sat alone in the House chamber on his first day in Congress
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Embattled Rep.-elect George Santos arrived for his first day in Congress on Tuesday. Santos — who lied about his education, religion, and work background — was also seen dodging reporters. Later in the afternoon, Santos was loudly booed by Democrats when he cast a vote for California Rep. Kevin McCarthy to be House speaker, according to CBS News. On Tuesday evening, the chamber adjourned for the day and voting will resume at noon on Wednesday. In a previous campaign for Congress, Santos claimed he had attended Horace Mann School, a prestigious preparatory school in the Bronx.

☆ DOJ touts first-of-its-kind settlement in racial discrimination case targeting ‘crime-free housing’ policy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Tierney Sneed | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The US Justice Department on Wednesday filed what it is describing as a first-of-its-kind settlement in a racial discrimination case challenging a so-called “crime-free housing ordinance.”The proposed consent decree was filed Wednesday in a lawsuit the Justice Department brought in 2019 against the central California city of Hesperia, alleging that the city’s ordinance violated the Fair Housing Act’s prohibitions on racial discrimination in housing access. Hesperia continues to deny the allegations. She noted under the program, Black renters were almost four times more likely to be evicted than White renters and Latino renters were 29% more likely to be evicted. According to the Justice Department, Hesperia and its co-defendants – the county of San Bernardino and the San Bernardino Sheriffs Department – have agreed to pay a $950,000 settlement. It will compensate people who were harmed under the policy and will cover anti-discrimination training and other initiatives.

☆ Binance withdrawals jumped to $3 billion in 24 hours, Nansen says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hong Kong CNN —Investors withdrew as much as $3 billion from Binance on Tuesday, according to blockchain analytics firm Nansen, as a deluge of negative headlines about the cryptocurrency industry rattled users of the world’s largest exchange. Andrew Thurman, content lead for Nansen, told CNN that at its peak, Binance saw “as high as $3 billion in net outflows” over a 24-hour period. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said that the exchange had at one point seen “some withdrawals” of roughly $1.1 billion. The founder of Binance’s one-time competitor, Sam Bankman-Fried, was arrested in the Bahamas this week after US prosecutors filed criminal charges against him. On Tuesday, Bankman-Fried was indicted in the United States on eight criminal charges including wire fraud and conspiracy.

☆ DOJ charges 7 with smuggling equipment to Russian military
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Holmes Lybrand | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington CNN —The US Justice Department has charged five Russian nationals, one American and an Israeli who is a US permanent resident with allegedly conspiring to violate US sanctions by smuggling US-made equipment to the Russian military, according to a recently unsealed court documents. According to the 16-count indictment, the defendants were associated with two Moscow companies that worked with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) to purchase and smuggle sanctioned items – including semiconductors and other electronic equipment – from the US to the Russian military. Konoshchenok, who the Justice Department believes is an officer for the FSB, was allegedly one of their smugglers. The two US nationals, Brayman and Yermolenko, are scheduled to be arraigned in federal court Tuesday. CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correctly reflect the nationalities of those charged by the DOJ.

☆ U.S. Justice Department reportedly split over charging Binance as crypto world falters
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +15 min

Justice Department regulations say that money laundering charges against a financial institution must be approved by the MLARS chief. Binance's defense attorneys at U.S. law firm Gibson Dunn have held meetings in recent months with Justice Department officials, the four people said. Faced with the Justice Department investigation, Binance hired an external lawyer from U.S. law firm Paul Weiss, Roberto Gonzalez, who was previously Treasury's deputy general counsel. The Justice Department appointed Eun Young Choi, previously Monaco's senior counsel, as NCET's first director. MLARS has a reputation in the Justice Department for moving slowly in reaching prosecution decisions, people familiar with its activities said.

Justice Department regulations say that money laundering charges against a financial institution must be approved by the MLARS chief. Binance's defense attorneys at U.S. law firm Gibson Dunn have held meetings in recent months with Justice Department officials, the four people said. Faced with the Justice Department investigation, Binance hired an external lawyer from U.S. law firm Paul Weiss, Roberto Gonzalez, who was previously Treasury's deputy general counsel. MLARS has a reputation in the Justice Department for moving slowly in reaching prosecution decisions, people familiar with its activities said. Day met with Justice officials in Washington in recent months, three of the people said.

☆ UN agency says Israel is delaying new visas for its staff
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Hadas Gold | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Jerusalem CNN —A United Nations agency that operates in the West Bank and Gaza says Israel is not processing visas for its newly recruited staff, while Israeli officials accuse the agency of “ignoring Israeli victims of terror” in East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, a charge the agency denies. The UN considers East Jerusalem and the West Bank to be occupied territory, and Israelis living there to be living in illegal settlements. Erdan said when OCHA is asked why they don’t count Israeli victims, they are told the agency does not have reliable data. “Of course you don’t, you don’t employ Hebrew speakers, and the senior manager of the agency is Palestinian,” Erdan said. OCHA’s latest report does record some instances of Israelis being injured by stones thrown at civilian vehicles traveling in the West Bank.

☆ A $200m superyacht seized from Putin's apparent choice for a Ukrainian puppet leader is being sold at auction, with Ukraine keeping the proceeds
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The yacht of pro-Kremlin Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk is being sold by Ukraine. Medvedchuk was said to be Vladimir Putin's top choice for a puppet leader in Ukraine. He was also believed to be Vladimir Putin's top choice for a puppet leader to replace Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the event Russia successfully overthrew the Ukrainian government. While Croatia seized the yacht in March, police only searched it on November 19 after a search warrant from the US justice department was approved, according to the Croatian Jutarnji list. It added that it's also searching for a $540 million yacht, which is owned by an unnamed Russian oligarch.

☆ How 2 friends at Bain spotted a big compliance risk in the crypto industry — and raised $2.8 million from CRV and Y Combinator to help fix it
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | April Joyner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Argus, which makes compliance software for crypto funds and trading firms, has raised $2.8 million. After FTX's fall, crypto firms are focused on compliance but worried about costs, Argus' CEO said. To prevent insider trading, Argus checks employee trades against a list of restricted assets, looking for overlap. Although other startups, such as ComplySci, also offer financial compliance software, Rapaport says that Argus distinguishes itself through its focus on crypto, where compliance procedures are relatively new terrain. "And so they're probably not thinking, 'Can we bring on a new compliance software?'

☆ Elon Musk suggests Sam Bankman-Fried should go to prison, saying he needs an 'adult timeout in the big house'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk has suggested FTX cofounder Sam Bankman-Fried should go to prison. Musk said of the crypto boss: "Let's just give him an adult timeout in the big house & move on." This isn't the first time Musk has taken a swipe at Bankman-Fried following FTX's collapse. In a Twitter Space discussion last month, Musk said he felt there was "something wrong" when he met Bankman-Fried on an unknown date. Representatives for FTX and Musk did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment made outside normal working hours.

☆ The US Justice Department wants the fraud allegations against FTX to be investigated
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

US Justice Department is pushing for an independent examiner to look into allegations of fraud against FTX. Authorities were already investigating FTX, and are now seeking a probe of alleged wrongdoing that led to its crash. But ex-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has tried to deflect those accusations, stating he "didn't ever try to commit fraud on anyone." The Justice Department and US regulators were already probing Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto empire before FTX filed for bankruptcy November 11. But Bankman-Fried has tried to deflect allegations of fraud, saying he wasn't aware of what was going on at his companies.

Companies Us Justice Department FollowWASHINGTON, Dec 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department is considering new guidance for corporations on employees' use of messaging applications and personal devices, as widespread use can thwart compliance and investigations. Currently, the Justice Department considers whether companies that allow use of disappearing messaging apps are regularly examining their compliance on records retention. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) separately has been scrutinizing how Wall Street firms are handling work-related communications on personal devices and apps such as WhatsApp. The Justice Department is also considering whether it needs to offer more guidance on how prosecutors weigh a company's executive clawback policies in investigations into corporate misconduct, Argentieri said. The Justice Department under President Joe Biden has already detailed a number of policy changes aimed at more aggressive policing of corporate wrongdoing.

☆ Saudi Arabia is now backpedaling, seeking to mend ties with Biden after Democrats fared better-than-expected in the midterms
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Saudi Arabia is seeking to repair relations with the US after a recent diplomatic spat. Democrats accused Saudi Arabia of seeking to damage the party in the midterms by cutting oil production. But instead, Biden's party emerged with their control of the Senate intact, and with a smaller-than-expected loss of seats in the House. Saudi Arabia is now walking a tightrope, said Chatham House's Quilliam. At the same time, Saudi Arabia is also keenly aware, said Quilliam, that the Middle East is no longer a key strategic priority for Washington.

Companies Us Justice Department FollowNov 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday launched a probe into whether Oklahoma, Oklahoma City and the city's police department discriminate against people who have mental health disabilities in the provision of behavioral care services. The ADA requires state and local governments to provide people with disabilities equal access to programs and services. In addition, the department will look into how Oklahoma City responds to emergency calls that involve a mental health crisis and if city police follow ADA standards on the scene of such calls. "We will evaluate whether the state of Oklahoma’s failure to provide community-based services for people with behavioral health disabilities in Oklahoma County results in unnecessary institutionalization and unnecessary police contact," Clarke said. The investigation came after a discrimination complaint was filed with the agency, according to a senior Justice Department official.

☆ The notable legal clouds that continue to hang over Donald Trump
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Dan Berman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

CNN —All eyes are on former President Donald Trump, whose third White House bid has already become mired in controversy. The Justice Department investigation continues into whether documents from the Trump White House were illegally mishandled when they were brought to Mar-a-Lago in Florida after he left office. Any unauthorized retention or destruction of White House documents could violate a criminal law that prohibits the removal or destruction of official government records, legal experts told CNN. During the panel’s hearings this summer, fingers were pointed at GOP lawmakers and Trump allies who tried to help overturn the election and Trump White House officials who failed to stop the former president’s actions. Recently, DOJ moved to compel additional testimony from former White House counsel Pat Cipollone and deputy White House counsel Patrick Philbin.

☆ Crypto: What's next as FTX collapse triggers 'Lehman moment'?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

And can the beaten-down crypto industry bounce back? What’s clear is that the fallout from the FTX crisis injects significant volatility into the crypto ecosystem. “Thank God!”Can the crypto industry survive? “In the short term, this is going to be really, really bad for the crypto industry,” said Jog of Sei Labs. Fok said he expects the FTX collapse will push institutional investors away from the crypto space just as they had been warming up to it.

☆ Facebook's Meta and Russian oligarch are sued by massacre victim's family accusing them of 'radicalizing' the Charleston church massacre killer: lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Facebook's Meta and Russian oligarch named in a lawsuit accusing them of "radicalizing" a killer. The family of a state senator who was killed in the 2015 Charleston massacre filed on Wednesday. Clementa Pinckney who was killed during the 2015 massacre, and their daughter filed the lawsuit on Wednesday, accusing Facebook and Yevgeny Prigozhin of exposing the killer to white supremacist propaganda, court papers show. Prigozhin set up Wagner Group in 2014 – a Russian mercenary organization accused of committing war crimes and human rights abuses. The Russian billionaire, who reportedly confronted Russian President Vladimir Putin on the war in Ukraine, was once charged with interfering in US politics.

☆ Facebook's Meta and Russian oligarch sued by massacre victim's family accusing them of 'radicalizing' the Charleston church shooter: lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A lawsuit named Facebook's Meta and a Russian oligarch and accused them of "radicalizing" a killer. The family of a state senator Dylann Roof killed in the 2015 Charleston massacre filed the suit. A judge sentenced Roof to death in 2017 after he shot and killed nine Black people. Prigozhin set up Wagner Group in 2014 – a Russian mercenary organization accused of committing war crimes and human rights abuses. The Russian billionaire, who reportedly confronted Russian President Vladimir Putin on the war in Ukraine, was once charged with interfering in US politics.

☆ Paul Pelosi was unconscious in a pool of his own blood for 3 minutes following hammer attack
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Tom Dotan | Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

"What's clear is this case is vulnerable to misinformation," Jenkins said outside the San Francisco Superior Court. "But Mr. Pelosi could not maintain his grip on the hammer. A second later, Defendant wrenched the hammer away from Mr. Pelosi, immediately stepped back, and lunged at Mr. Pelosi, striking Mr. Pelosi in the head at full force with the hammer, which knocked Mr. Pelosi unconscious." "Mr. Pelosi remained unresponsive for about three minutes, waking up in a pool of his own blood." "This is not representative of the state or safety of San Francisco, it's more representative of the state of politics in the United States."

☆ Passengers in fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes are ‘crime victims,’ US judge says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

A US judge in Texas ruled on Friday that people killed in two Boeing (BA) 737 MAX crashes are legally considered “crime victims,” a designation that will determine what remedies should be imposed. The deal capped a 21-month investigation into the design and development of the 737 MAX following the deadly crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia in 2018 and 2019. The families of the victims of the Ethiopian Airlines crash of the Boeing 737 Max jet held a vigil in front of the US Department of Transportation headquarters in Washington, DC on Sept. 10, 2019. Boeing wants Congress to waive a December deadline imposed by the legislation for the FAA to certify the MAX 7 and MAX 10. Last month, Boeing paid $200 million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges it misled investors about the MAX.

☆ U.S. urges 6-month sentence for ex-Trump adviser Bannon over contempt conviction
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Sarah N. Lynch | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Bannon, an influential far-right political figure, was convicted in July on two counts of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena. Each count is punishable by between 30 days to one year in prison and a fine ranging between $100 to $100,000. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterHe is due to be sentenced before U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols on Friday morning. They also urged the judge to impose the maximum fine of $200,000, which they said they based on Bannon's "insistence on paying the maximum fine rather than cooperate with the Probation Office’s routine pre-sentencing financial investigation." Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Sarah N. LynchOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

In a filing on Tuesday, the Justice Department urged the Supreme Court to reject Trump's request because he has not pointed to any "clear error" in the lower court's decision or shown how he is harmed by it. Cannon had temporarily barred the Justice Department from examining the seized documents until the special master she appointed, Judge Raymond Dearie, had identified any that could be considered privileged. The Justice Department has "attempted to criminalize a document management dispute and now vehemently objects to a transparent process that provides much-needed oversight," Trump's lawyers added. At issue in the 11th Circuit's ruling were documents bearing classified markings of confidential, secret or top secret. In an interview on Fox News last month, Trump asserted that he had the power to declassify documents "even by thinking about it."

☆ Meet the brightest investors and dealmakers under 35 from firms like Blackstone and Bridgewater navigating today's choppy markets.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Aaron Weinman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

After months of interviews and countless rounds of fact checking, meet 25 best-in-class investors, traders, and dealmakers under the age of 35, from firms like JPMorgan, BlackRock, and Apollo, among others. Here is the latest crop of rising stars — Wall Streeters under the age of 35 who are pushing their teams to the top. The end result celebrates people from all walks of life who are infusing new ideas at the biggest firms. He works across the firm's funds TPG Capital and TPG Growth, and also covers TPG's impact-oriented initiative called The Rise Fund. HBCUvc's operating chief reviews hundreds of applications for the program that offers paid internships at VC firms.

Companies Us Justice Department FollowWASHINGTON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department on Friday asked a federal appeals court to let it resume reviewing classified materials seized in an FBI search of former President Donald Trump's Florida estate. The Justice Department must now convince the Atlanta-based appeals court, with a conservative majority, to take its side in litigation over the records probe. The government's motion comes after U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon on Thursday rejected the same requests from the Justice Department. REUTERS/Al Drago/File PhotoThere were roughly 100 classified documents among the 11,000 records gathered in the FBI's court-approved Aug. 8 search at the former president's Mar-a-Lago resort. If Cannon's ruling stands, experts said, it would likely stall the Justice Department investigation involving the government records.

☆ WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange
▼ + stars: | 2021-12-13 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

Julian Assange, founder of the website WikiLeaks, has been a key figure in major leaks of classified government documents, cables and videos. Assange was released from a British prison on June 24 and was making his way back to his home country Australia after his 12-year battle against extradition to the United States ended in a plea deal. The Australian has been wanted in the United States on 18 criminal charges after WikiLeaks published thousands of classified files and diplomatic cables in 2010. Assange spent nearly seven years holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, protected by asylum status. In 2019, his asylum was rescinded by Ecuador and he was arrested by London's Metropolitan Police in connection with bail-skipping charges and an extradition warrant from the US Justice Department.

Persons: Julian Assange, Assange Organizations: WikiLeaks, Ecuadorian Embassy, London's Metropolitan Police, US Justice Department Locations: Australia, United States, Ecuadorian, London, Ecuador

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