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☆ Elizabeth Warren unveils bipartisan bill to crack down on crypto money laundering
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —As federal prosecutors seek to imprison former crypto darling Sam Bankman-Fried, Sen. Elizabeth Warren is attempting to push through Congress a bipartisan crackdown on money laundering in the crypto industry. Due to time constraints, the Warren-Marshall crypto legislation has little chance of getting through this Congress. The new bill, called the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act, would attack money laundering by attempting to bring the digital asset ecosystem into compliance with the existing system of anti-money laundering in the worldwide financial system. The Treasury Department warned earlier this year that ransomware hackers, drug traffickers and fraudsters are using digital assets to launder illicit proceeds. - Cracking down on digital asset ATMs by making sure operators and administrators submit and update the physical addresses of their kiosks.

☆ Factbox: Major cryptocurrency cases probed by U.S. authorities
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

BITMEX EMPLOYEESEmployees of BitMEX, including the cryptocurrency exchange's founders, pleaded guilty this year to willfully failing to establish, implement and maintain programs to prevent money laundering. The firm's cofounders pleaded guilty in federal court in New York and each agreed to pay a $10 million criminal fine. Another of the firm's employees also pleaded guilty, and agreed to a $150,000 fine. ONECOIN LTDIn 2019, U.S. authorities charged the alleged leaders of a multibillion-dolar pyramid scheme involving a fraudulent cryptocurrency called OneCoin. After a six-month court battle, Telegram agreed to pay an $18.5 million civil penalty and return $1.2 billion to investors.

☆ 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.

☆ AOC wasn't the first lawmaker to attend the Met Gala. But how she got the ticket — and that dress — may have made her a target for an ethics complaint, expert says.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

One ethics expert told Insider a potential ethics violation would depend on who paid for her ticket. In June, the OCE, a non-partisan body, referred the complaint to the House Ethics Committee. For instance, if Facebook purchased a Met Gala table and gifted one of its seats to a lawmaker, that could constitute an ethics violation. Wintour has served as an official co-chair or honorary chair of the Met Gala nearly every year since 1995. Rep. Carolyn Maloney also attended the Met Gala on several occasions — and became the subject of a House Ethics Committee investigation this year.

"Ayan has established business contracts to sell Iranian oil worth hundreds of millions of dollars to buyers," in China, the United Arab Emirates and Europe, the statement says, adding that he then funneled the proceeds back to the Quds Force. The Treasury action will freeze any U.S. assets of those designated and generally bar Americans from dealing with them. Washington maintains sweeping sanctions on Iran and has looked for ways to increase pressure as efforts to resurrect a 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran have stalled. The 2015 agreement limited Iran's uranium enrichment activity to make it harder for Tehran to develop nuclear arms in return for lifting international sanctions. Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk Editing by Don Durfee and Howard GollerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ex-U.S. lawmaker arrested for conspiring to act as agent of Venezuela
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Former U.S. lawmaker David Rivera was arrested on Monday on charges of conspiring to launder money and to illegally act as an agent of the Venezuelan government, according to a U.S. official and an indictment. Rivera and associate Esther Nuhfer sought to improve bilateral ties and prevent further U.S. economic sanctions against Venezuela, without disclosing this as required by the Foreign Agents Registration Act, according to the indictment. "On November 16, 2022, Rivera was indicted by a federal grand jury sitting in the Southern District of Florida." In 2020, a PDVSA unit under opposition control sued Interamerican Consulting, stating it received $15 million from PDVSA but performed no meaningful services. Interamerican paid millions of dollars to a company managing yachts for a Venezuelan businessman, according to records that emerged from that lawsuit.

☆ What TV Shows Did We Watch in 2022? So Far, A Lot of Crime
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Beth Decarbo | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Jason Bateman as Marty Byrde, the money-laundering financial adviser in ‘Ozark,’ one of the top streaming shows of the year. Even when Americans chill out in front of the TV, crime is on their minds. In the first half of 2022, six of the top 10 shows offered by the major streaming services dealt with crime and criminals, both real and fictional, according to an analysis of the first half of the year by Nielsen Co. Topping the list was “Stranger Things,” a sci-fi mystery that investigates a boy’s disappearance. Coming in second was “Ozark,” in which a fictitious financial adviser moves to Missouri’s Ozarks to launder money.

☆ 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.

☆ U.S. charges 21 individuals for role in global crypto money laundering networks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Nov 30 (Reuters) - The United States has charged 21 individuals for their roles in global cryptocurrency money laundering networks, the U.S. Attorney's Office For Eastern District Of Texas said on Wednesday. "These defendants orchestrated highly organized and sophisticated schemes to launder fraud proceeds through cryptocurrency," U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston said in the statement. Reporting by Ismail ShakilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bitcoin hits 2-year low as $1.4 trillion wiped off crypto market this year after FTX collapse
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The crypto market has been battered this year, with more than $2 trillion wiped off its value since its peak in Nov. 2021. Cryptocurrencies have been under pressure after the collapse of major exchange FTX. Bitcoin on Tuesday hit a two-year low as the cryptocurrency market takes a bruising following the collapse of major exchange FTX. The digital coin has since bounced from that low and was trading at around $15,728.33 at 4:08 a.m. Binance's move sparked the collapse of FTX, a company once valued at $32 billion.

☆ Hackers begin laundering crypto stolen from collapsed exchange FTX
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHackers begin laundering crypto stolen from collapsed exchange FTXHackers have stolen an estimated $477 million from now-collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX. The hackers have now begun to launder that money. CNBC's Arjun Kharpal reports on the money trail and the methods the hackers are using to move the funds around.

☆ Treasury Warns Crypto Industry of Money-Laundering Risks in ‘Mixers’
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Mengqi Sun | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

The cryptocurrency industry must follow the U.S. Treasury Department’s anti-money-laundering and sanctions regulations to prevent bad actors from abusing platforms known as “mixers” to launder illicit funds, a senior official said. Crypto-industry participants have raised questions over the sanctions being imposed on Tornado Cash, a platform based on open-source, self-running software protocols. Some in the decentralized finance community have expressed concerns about what they see as excessive government pressure on the industry. Some, including Coinbase Global Inc. and industry advocacy groups, have sued the Treasury, alleging the action against Tornado Cash infringes on Americans’ privacy and First Amendment rights. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | Risk and Compliance Journal Our Morning Risk Report features insights and news on governance, risk and compliance.

Hackers who stole around $477 million worth of cryptocurrency from collapsed exchange FTX have started to launder the funds into bitcoin . Blockchain analytics company Elliptic estimates that around $477 million worth of cryptocurrency had been stolen from FTX. The theft adds insult to injury to FTX, a once $32 billion crypto empire who collapse has sent shockwaves across the industry. Crypto compliance software company Chainalysis in a tweet on Sunday also confirmed that hackers are moving funds. The implosion of FTX has left Bankman-Fried a paper pauper and investors left unable to access their crypto assets.

WASHINGTON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Two Estonian citizens were arrested in Tallinn, Estonia, on an 18-count indictment for their alleged involvement in a $575 million cryptocurrency fraud and money laundering conspiracy, the U.S. Justice Department said on Monday. They also made victims invest in a virtual currency bank called Polybius Bank, which in reality was not a bank and never paid out the promised dividends, the Justice Department said. "The size and scope of the alleged scheme is truly astounding," said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite Jr of the Justice Department's criminal division. "U.S. and Estonian authorities are working to seize and restrain these assets and take the profit out of these crimes." The money laundering conspiracy allegedly involved at least 75 real properties, six luxury vehicles, cryptocurrency wallets, and thousands of cryptocurrency mining machines, according to the department, which said the case was probed by the FBI.

Two Cambodian wildlife officials were among eight people charged Wednesday with running an international monkey smuggling ring that shipped primates to the U.S. that were poached from the wild and falsely labeled as coming from breeding facilities, federal prosecutors said. Cambodian wildlife officials were paid to help transport the monkeys to the facilities, including the Vanny Bio Research center in Cambodia, the indictment says. One of the Cambodian wildlife officials, Masphal Kry, 46, was arrested Wednesday at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City. According to federal prosecutors in Miami, he personally transported the monkeys to the Cambodian facilities and received payments from the other members of the alleged smuggling ring between December 2017 and this September. “The allegations are alarming — the plundering of wild populations of long-tailed macaques and falsely labeling them as captive-bred in order to bypass regulations,” Kite said.

☆ Nouriel Roubini slams Binance boss CZ as a 'walking time bomb' and says crypto is totally corrupt
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Nouriel Roubini called Binance founder Changpeng Zhao a "walking time bomb" on Wednesday. Roubini also slammed Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary, who he called "a paid hack for FTX". "There are seven Cs of crypto," Roubini told CNBC Middle East Wednesday. Now FTX is collapsing & being bailed out by Binance," Roubini said in a November 9 tweet. Read more: 'Dr Doom' economist Nouriel Roubini suggests FTX's rescue deal shows how crypto is a Ponzi scheme: 'Who will bail out Binance?'

☆ 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.

☆ U.S. changes sanction reasons on virtual currency service Tornado Cash
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury has broadened its justification for sanctioning virtual currency mixing service Tornado Cash on allegations it supports North Korea, despite criticism from users that the Treasury is targeting a service and not an organization. The move - which a Treasury representative said reflected the service's support for the North Korean government - still leaves Americans unable to send and receive money through the service. But the move had proven controversial in part because some argued that Tornado Cash was less an organization than a set of software. In a lawsuit filed this year, six Texan users of Tornado Cash said that Treasury officials had overstepped their jurisdiction by effectively blocking access to computer code. "Tornado Cash is not a person, entity, or organization.

☆ Insurance Broker Arthur J. Gallagher Subpoenaed by Justice Department’s Foreign Bribery Unit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Dylan Tokar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. said it received a subpoena from the Justice Department’s foreign bribery unit, making it the latest company to become ensnared in a sprawling investigation into corruption at state-owned companies in Ecuador. The information request, which the company said it received in its third quarter, was from the Justice Department’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act unit, Arthur J. Gallagher said. Prosecutors from that unit have asked Arthur J. Gallagher for information related to its insurance business with public entities in Ecuador, the company said in its Nov. 2 report. The law is enforced by the Justice Department and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. A spokesperson for Arthur J. Gallagher didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Hours later, his firm — Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth & Detrickhe — releases its own statement alleging Murdaugh had misappropriated company funds. Jan. 21, 2022A grand jury indicts Murdaugh on 23 new charges, including breach of trust with fraudulent intent and computer crimes. Jan. 24, 2022A legal claim is filed against the estates of Margaret and Paul Murdaugh by the mother of Mallory Beach, 19, who was killed in a boat crash in 2019. May 4, 2022Prosecutors announce that Murdaugh is facing four new charges related to financial crimes also involving Fleming and others. July 14, 2022A grand jury announces an indictment against Murdaugh on double murder charges in the deaths of Margaret and Paul.

☆ Fact Check-Pentagon says U.S. military personnel are in Ukraine to inspect deliveries of US weapons, not to go into combat
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

These assertions are missing context, as the Pentagon confirmed in a press briefing that U.S. military personnel are in the country in order to conduct inspections of U.S. weapons deliveries rather than to fight in the conflict. However, the U.S. military personnel are inspecting weapons delivery at various locations in Ukraine and there is no proof of combat forces present in the country. In a press briefing on Nov. 1, Pentagon Press Secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder provided detail on U.S. military personnel in Ukraine. U.S. military personnel are in Ukraine to conduct weapons inspections. Pentagon officials said on Nov. 1 that no U.S. combat forces were in Ukraine.

☆ Removing Sanctions on Crypto Mixer Tornado Cash Won’t Be Easy
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Mengqi Sun | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

While crypto advocates and companies contend that Tornado Cash’s sanctions infringe on personal rights to privacy—an important issue for the nascent industry—crypto experts said Tornado Cash might not be the best test case for that argument. Tornado Cash, a currency mixer that lets users commingle their funds to obfuscate ownership, was sanctioned in August by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which enforces U.S. sanctions. OFAC accused Tornado Cash of allowing users to launder billions of dollars in virtual currency, including $455 million allegedly stolen by North Korean hackers. The sanctions froze U.S. assets held by Tornado Cash and barred U.S. companies and individuals from doing business with it. Other participants in the decentralized-finance industry have expressed similar concerns about OFAC’s power to sanction Tornado Cash.

Instead, they're embroiled in a battle over who is the legal owner of all that stolen crypto. A company spokesperson told CNBC that Bitfinex customers could have sold the tokens for cash and then used the cash to buy more bitcoins at the time. The decision to offer customers tokens came after the company decided to generalize its losses across all account holders by 36%. Bitfinex hack victim Rafal Bielenia. Will Hogarth, who also had his crypto stolen in the Bitfinex hack, told CNBC, "I still expect my bitcoin back and I don't see any reason why they would keep it."

☆ Russians schemed to send U.S. military technology to Russian defense sector, Justice Department says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Tom_Winter_Nbc_News.Jpg | Tom Winter | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Two Russian nationals were arrested in a scheme to obtain sensitive U.S. military electronics and technology to provide it to the Russian defense sector, prosecutors said Wednesday, noting that some of the items were found on the battlefield in Ukraine. The men sent the items to sanctioned Russian companies that serve the defense sector, according to federal prosecutors. "This network schemed to procure sophisticated technology in direct support of a floundering Russian Federation military industrial complex," Assistant FBI Director Michael Driscoll said in a statement. When Orekhov and Kuzurgasheva sought to buy the sensitive U.S. military and "dual-use technology," they falsely claimed it was going to the Russian space agency Roscosmos. In an exchange with Soto, Orekhov used colorful language to allay his concerns about dealing with Russian companies.

Some of the electronics obtained through the scheme have been found in Russian weapons platforms seized in Ukraine, prosecutors said. They used a German company to ship the military technologies, as well as Venezuelan oil, to Russian purchasers, prosecutors said. The U.S.-origin technologies can be used in fighter aircraft, ballistic and hypersonic missile systems, smart munitions, and other military applications, Treasury said. After the initial round of U.S. sanctions on PDVSA, Russia's Rosneft emerged as a key intermediary for Venezuelan crude. After Washington sanctioned Rosneft subsidiaries over their dealings with PDVSA, dozens of firms with no track record of oil trading have been intermediating in sales of Venezuelan oil to Chinese buyers.

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