Category: Digital Currencies

Indonesia Targets Gambling Ring Using Crypto, QR Codes

Digital Currencies, Money Laundering
ndonesian authorities have arrested two individuals suspected of running an online money laundering operation linked to gambling proceeds. The National Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) said the suspects, identified as OHW and H, were involved in a scheme to launder gambling money through Indonesia’s QR code payment system—QRIS—and cryptocurrency. Criminal Investigation Unit Chief Commissioner General Wahyu Widada said the suspects established and controlled companies to place, receive and move funds from illegal online gambling operations. All forms of gambling are illegal in Indonesia. The money was later funneled through “thousands of accounts” as part of the laundering process. Police said…

Ukrainians Linked to $13M International Crypto Fraud Scheme

Digital Currencies, Fraud
Ukrainian law enforcement, working with international agencies, have uncovered a scheme in which suspects convinced people to invest in a fake cryptocurrency mining project, officials said Wednesday. Three Ukrainian nationals allegedly helped orchestrate the scheme, which defrauded victims of about $13 million in the United States, Latvia, Israel, Malta, Spain, and other countries, according to Ukraine’s National Police. Since early 2021, the suspects had advertised cryptocurrency “cloud mining” services, mainly targeting European internet users. Victims were persuaded to pay to rent computing power from third-party companies, which were supposedly generating virtual assets to be paid out as dividends. The group…

Crypto ‘Laundromat’ Tied to Russian Financial Sector and Cocaine Trade – Police

Digital Currencies, Money Laundering
An international money-laundering ring run out of Moscow and Dubai has been moving billions in cryptocurrency and hard cash for criminal operations, ranging from Russian ransomware attacks to street-level drug deals in the U.K., Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) said Wednesday. Several alleged key figures in the money-laundering ring, which the NCA said had “multiple links to the Russian financial sector,” were sanctioned by the U.S. also on Wednesday. They included George Rossi, the Russian-born Ukrainian founder of the TGR group of companies, one of two “criminal enterprises” allegedly running the network. The other group, Smart, was led by Russian…

FCA secures convictions against two individuals for £1.5m fraud

Digital Currencies, Fraud
Between February 2017 and June 2019, Raymondip Bedi and Patrick Mavanga, defrauded at least 65 investors out of £1,541,799. The group cold-called consumers, directing them to a professional-looking website where they were offered high returns for fake investments in crypto. Raymondip Bedi pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud, conspiracy to breach the general prohibition under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and money laundering offences at an earlier hearing. Patrick Mavanga pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud, conspiracy to breach the general prohibition under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and possession of false identification documents with an…

Bitcoin Fog Operator Sentenced for Money Laundering Conspiracy

Digital Currencies, Money Laundering, Prosecutions
Operator of Notorious Darknet Cryptocurrency “Mixer” Laundered $400M in Cryptocurrency since 2011A dual Russian-Swedish national was sentenced today to 12 years and six months in prison for his operation of the longest-running bitcoin money laundering service on the darknet. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, from 2011 through 2021, Roman Sterlingov, 36, was involved in operating Bitcoin Fog, the darknet’s longest-running cryptocurrency “mixer.” Over the course of its decade-long operation, Bitcoin Fog gained notoriety as a go-to money laundering service for criminals seeking to hide their illicit proceeds from law enforcement and processed transactions involving over 1.2…

Alleged Hong Kong Crypto Swindler Tied to Singapore Money Laundering Syndicate

Digital Currencies, Prosecutions
A Chinese national accused of stealing millions from investors after the collapse of a cryptocurrency exchange also owned companies with businessmen linked to major money laundering investigations in Southeast Asia — including one who has been convicted, and another suspect on the run. Hong Kong police have called Su Weiyi the “mastermind” behind Atom Asset Exchange (AAX), which had more than two million users before collapsing in 2022. Su Weiyi allegedly absconded with investors’ money, but returned to Hong Kong where he was arrested on July 18 and charged with theft. The charges have not been proven in court and…

New York Man Pleads Guilty in Crypto-Fueled $25M Money Laundering Case

Digital Currencies, Money Laundering, Prosecutions
The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI announced on Friday that Yanbing Chen, a 30-year-old from Brooklyn, N.Y., pleaded guilty to his involvement in an international money laundering and drug trafficking conspiracy. The organization, led by Jin Hua Zhang of Staten Island, laundered over $25 million in drug proceeds and illegal funds. Chen delivered $50,000 in drug profits, which were converted to Tether, a cryptocurrency, and transferred to Zhang, minus a fee. The funds were traced to multiple countries, including Hong Kong, India, and Brazil. Additionally, Chen transported five kilograms of cocaine in two separate meetings under Zhang’s direction. Zhang…

SEC Charges NovaTech and its Principals and Promoters with $650m Crypto Fraud

Digital Currencies, Fraud, Prosecutions
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Cynthia and Eddy Petion, along with their company, NovaTech Ltd., for operating a fraudulent scheme that raised more than $650 million in crypto assets from more than 200,000 investors worldwide, including many in the Haitian-American community. The SEC also charged Martin Zizi, Dapilinu Dunbar, James Corbett, Corrie Sampson, John Garofano, and Marsha Hadley for their roles in promoting NovaTech to investors. According to the SEC’s complaint, the Petions operated NovaTech as a multi-level marketing (MLM) and crypto asset investment program from 2019 through 2023. They lured investors by claiming NovaTech would…

Man charged over €6.5m cryptocurrency seizure in Dublin

Digital Currencies, Money Laundering
A man has appeared in court following the seizure of €6.5m (£5.6m) worth of cryptocurrency in County Dublin.The seizure was part of an investigation into the sale of illegal material on darknet markets and money laundering.The 23-year-old man is facing three counts of money laundering.Two other people arrested as part of the police investigation, a 49-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman, have been released from custody. As part of the investigation, the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau (GNCCB) said they seized “substantial assets” including Bitcoin and Monero, along with watches worth €120,000 (£100,000) and two vehicles valued at €220,000 (£190,000).Kevin…

Illinois judge orders $120 million payment in crypto fraud case

Digital Currencies, Prosecutions
An Illinois district judge has ruled in favor of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), ordering Oregon resident Sam Ikkurty and his company Jafia, LLC to pay over $120 million, partly in restitution, to victims of what the CFTC described as a “Ponzi”-like scheme. Judge Mary Rowland of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued the opinion on Monday, which was posted by the CFTC on Wednesday. The ruling stated that Ikkurty and Jafia made “material misrepresentations” and engaged in fraud without proper registration. In a notable part of the order, Judge Rowland classified cryptocurrencies…

The EBA issues ‘travel rule’ guidance to tackle money laundering and terrorist financing in transfers of funds and crypto assets

Digital Currencies, Regulation
The European Banking Authority (EBA) issued today new Guidelines on the so-called ‘travel rule’, i.e. the information that should accompany transfers of funds and certain crypto assets. This rule will help tackle the abuse of such transfers for money laundering and terrorist financing purposes. The Guidelines specify which information should accompany a transfer of funds or crypto assets and also list the steps that payment service providers (PSPs), intermediary PSPs (IPSPs), crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) and intermediary CASPs (ICASPs) should take to detect missing or incomplete information, and what they should do if a transfer of funds or a transfer…

Man Convicted for $110M Cryptocurrency Scheme

Digital Currencies, Market Abuse, Prosecutions
Justice Department’s First Cryptocurrency Open-Market Manipulation CaseA federal jury in New York convicted a man residing in Puerto Rico today of commodities fraud, commodities market manipulation, and wire fraud in connection with the manipulation on the Mango Markets decentralized cryptocurrency exchange. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Avraham Eisenberg, 28, engaged in a scheme to fraudulently obtain approximately $110 million worth of cryptocurrency from Mango Markets and its customers by artificially manipulating the price of certain perpetual futures contracts. “Avraham Eisenberg executed a manipulative trading scheme on a cryptocurrency exchange, defrauding the exchange and its investors out…

Specialist CPS team involved in UK’s largest Bitcoin seizure

Digital Currencies, Money Laundering
An ex-takeaway worker has been convicted (Wednesday 20 March 2024) of laundering the proceeds which saw her rise from living above a Chinese restaurant to residing in a multi-million pound house in an affluent part of North London. Jian Wen, 42, was found guilty at Southwark Crown Court of an offence relating to money laundering. Picture of Jian WenJian WenA Metropolitan Police investigation resulted in the CPS seizure of Bitcoin wallets from Wen, with an initial estimated value in excess of £2 billion. Prosecutors told the court the sheer scale of the seized Bitcoin, the lack of any legitimate evidence…

Online Cryptocurrency Exchanger Pleads Guilty to Operating Unlicensed Money Transmitting Business

Digital Currencies, Money Laundering
Defendant Agrees to Forfeit $1.3 Million in Cash, Crypto and Precious MetalsEarlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, David Scotese pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. As part of his plea agreement, Scotese agreed to forfeit cryptocurrency, cash, and precious metals worth in excess of $1.3 million at current valuation. The proceeding was held before United States District Judge Joan M. Azrack. When sentenced, Scotese faces up to five years in prison. Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Thomas Fattorusso, Special Agent-in-Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Erin Keegan, Acting…

EBA issues guidance to crypto-asset service providers to effectively manage their exposure to ML/TF risks

Digital Currencies, Regulation
The European Banking Authority (EBA) today extended its Guidelines on money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF) risk factors to crypto-asset service providers (CASPs). The new Guidelines highlight ML/TF risk factors and mitigating measures that CASPs need to consider, representing an important step forward in the EU’s fight against financial crime. CASPs can be abused for financial crime purposes, including ML and TF. The risks of this happening can be increased, for example because of the speed of crypto-asset transfers or because some products contain features that hide the user’s identity. Therefore, it is important that CASPs know about these…

The EBA consults on new Guidelines on preventing the abuse of funds and certain crypto-assets transfers for money laundering and terrorist financing purposes

Digital Currencies
The European Banking Authority (EBA) today launched a public consultation on new Guidelines on preventing the abuse of funds and certain crypto-assets transfers for money laundering and terrorist financing purposes. These ‘travel rule’ Guidelines specify the steps that Payment Service Providers (PSPs), Intermediary PSPs (IPSPs), crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) and Intermediary CASPs (ICASPs) should take to detect missing or incomplete information that accompanies a transfer of funds or crypto-assets. They also detail the procedures all these providers should put in place to manage a transfer of funds or a transfer of crypto-assets that lacks the required information. These Guidelines aim…

U.S. Treasury Announces Largest Settlements in History with World’s Largest Virtual Currency Exchange Binance for Violations of U.S. Anti-Money Laundering and Sanctions Laws

Digital Currencies, Money Laundering
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of the Treasury, through the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and IRS Criminal Investigation (CI), has taken unprecedented action to hold Binance Holdings Ltd. and its affiliates (collectively, Binance) accountable for violations of the U.S. anti-money laundering (AML) and sanctions laws that protect American national security and the integrity of the international financial system. Binance is the world’s largest virtual currency exchange, responsible for an estimated 60% of centralized virtual currency spot trading. Today, Binance settled with FinCEN and OFAC for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)…

Taiwanese authorities seize $320M in country’s largest crypto laundering scheme

Digital Currencies, Money Laundering
The case has surpassed all previous records of money laundering investigated by the Criminal Investigation Bureau in Taiwan Taiwan authorities have arrested an individual suspected of laundering a record 10.4 billion Taiwanese dollars ($320 million) via digital assets. This marks the largest single case of crypto-related money laundering in the island nation’s history. Identified only by the surname Qiu, the suspect was arrested in June upon his return from a trip to Southeast Asia, according to Taichung’s Criminal Investigation Bureau and local media. The case emerged from an investigation initiated last year into a fake securities trading app. A probe…

ADGM introduces the worlds first DLT Foundations Regime

Digital Currencies, Regulation
The Registration Authority (RA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) officially released the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Foundations Regulations 2023, marking a significant milestone in the evolution of digital assets regulatory frameworks across the region and at an international level. This newly implemented legislative structure is designed to provide a comprehensive framework for DLT Foundations and Decentralised Autonomous Organisations (DAOs), enabling them to operate and issue tokens recognising the unique needs of the Blockchain industry. This new regime comes in line with ADGM’s strategy to foster initiatives in the broader blockchain and digital asset realm. By setting a global benchmark…

OFAC Sanctions Mexican and Colombian Nationals Involved in Sinaloa Cartel

Digital Currencies, Sanctions
On September 26, 2023, the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 10 individuals involved in illegal fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine trafficking into the United States on behalf of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel. As we’ll explore below, one of those individuals controls an Ethereum address that was included as an identifier on his SDN List entry. Today’s actions represent a coordinated effort between OFAC, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Government of Mexico’s La Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera, and the Colombia Counternarcotics Working Group. Who are the sanctioned individuals and what did they do?Nine of…

Cyprus to Tighten Crypto Regulations in Accordance with FATF

Digital Currencies, Regulation
One of the friendliest European jurisdictions to crypto, Cyprus, might bring its industry regulation to tighter standards. According to an Oct. 10 report by the Cyprus Mail, the Cypriot Ministry of Finance intends to amend the existing Prevention and Suppression of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Law. The ministry has presented its amendments package to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal Affairs, Justice and Public Order. It seeks to align Cyprus with international standards for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), as well as the recommendations of…

Hackers Steal $53m Worth of Cryptocurrency from CoinEx

Digital Currencies, Financial Crime
Global cryptocurrency exchange CoinEX announced that someone hacked its hot wallets and stole large amounts of digital assets that were used to support the platform’s operations. The incident occurred on September 12 and preliminary results of the investigation show that the unauthorized transactions involved Ethereum ($ETH), Tron ($TRON), and Polygon ($MATIC) cryptocurrency. CoinEx has not provided any info about the financial impact incurred, as the investigation has yet to determine the complete losses. However, a report from blockchain security firm PeckShield says that the attack drained CoinEx of about $19 million in $ETH, $11 million in $TRON, $6.4 million in…

Bankman-Fried Used Customer Funds for $100 in U.S. Political Donations

Digital Currencies, Fraud, Prosecutions
Sam Bankman-Fried used stolen customer funds to make more than $100 million in political campaign contributions ahead of the 2022 U.S. midterm elections, federal prosecutors said on Monday in a new indictment filed against the FTX cryptocurrency exchange’s founder. The new indictment charges the 31-year-old former billionaire with seven counts of conspiracy and fraud over the collapse of the exchange. He has previously pleaded not guilty to charges of stealing billions in FTX customer funds to plug losses at Alameda Research, his crypto-focused hedge fund. Mark Botnick, a spokesman for Bankman-Fried, declined to comment. Sam Bankman-Fried criminal charges unsealed: Conspiracy…

Coinbase Cleared to Offer Regulated Crypto Futures to Eligible U.S. Customers

Digital Currencies
Despite its ongoing legal battles with the SEC, Coinbase has gained approval from another regulator to offer eligible US customers access to crypto futures directly from its platforms. The clearance to operate as a futures commission merchant (FCM) came from the National Futures Association, a self-regulatory organization designated by the Commodity and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Coinbase revealed Wednesday. “Offering US investors access to secure and regulated crypto futures is key to unlocking growth and enabling broader participation in the crypto economy,” Coinbase Financial Markets CEO Andrew Sears told Blockworks in an email. Coinbase filed an application to the NFA…

U.S. Department of the Treasury, IRS Release Proposed Regulations on Sales and Exchanges of Digital Assets by Brokers

Digital Currencies, Regulation
WASHINGTON – As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s implementation of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury Department) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) today released proposed regulations on the sale and exchange of digital assets by brokers, in an effort to crack down on tax cheats while helping law-abiding taxpayers know how much they owe on the sale or exchange of digital assets. This is part of a broader effort at Treasury to close the tax gap, address the tax evasion risks posed by digital assets, and help ensure that everyone plays…

UK Crypto, Stablecoin Laws Approved by Parliament’s Upper House

Digital Currencies, Regulation
The Financial Services and Markets Bill stands to recognize crypto as a regulated activity and stablecoins as a means of payment under existing laws. U.K. parliamentarians have voted through a new bill that could recognize crypto as a regulated activity in the country.The approval of the Financial Services and Markets Bill (FSMB) on Monday by Parliament’s upper chamber, the House of Lords, means the bill is going to enter the final stages before it is put into law. The wide-ranging bill, spanning over 340 pages, was introduced in July to take advantage of Brexit freedoms and give regulators more power…

New Crackdowns on Crypto Enablers and ‘Pig Butchering’ on the Way

Digital Currencies, Money Laundering
The US cryptocurrency enforcement chief has said that the country was stepping up scrutiny of crypto exchanges to target illicit behavior on the platforms. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is targeting crypto companies that engage in crimes themselves or allow crimes like money laundering to happen, Eun Young Choi, director of the agency’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), told the FT. On the target list with crypto exchanges are with the “mixers and tumblers” that obscure the trail of transactions, she said. “… they’re allowing for all the other criminal actors to easily profit from their crimes and cash out…

OFAC Sanctions Dubai-based Financial Services Firm and CEO for Role in Russian Sanctions Evasion

Digital Currencies, Sanctions
On May 19, 2023, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 22 individuals and 104 entities operating in 20 countries for their role in facilitating Russian sanctions evasion. Concurrently, OFAC has expanded its Russian sanctions program for future targeting of individuals and entities involved in key sectors of the Russian economy. One of the individuals sanctioned today, an Irish national named John Desmond Hanafin, has an active Ethereum address included as an identifier on his SDN List entry. Hanafin is the founder and CEO of Huriya Private FZE LLE, a Dubai-based financial services company also sanctioned today…

Watchdog Proposes First Set of Global Rules for Crypto Sector

Digital Currencies, Regulation
INTERNATIONAL securities watchdog IOSCO unveiled on Tuesday the first global approach to regulating cryptoasset and digital markets, drawing on lessons from last year’s collapse of the FTX exchange that fuelled concerns over consumer protection. The industry, which typically only has to comply with anti-money laundering checks, has been calling for a global approach to regulation as different jurisdictions follow their own rules. The moves come after crypto exchange FTX began U.S. bankruptcy proceedings last November following a liquidity crisis that prompted intervention from regulators worldwide. Tuesday’s recommendations are a “turning point in addressing the very clear and proximate risks to…

Japan’s Crypto Anti-Money Laundering Measures to Start in June

Digital Currencies, Money Laundering
Lawmakers in Japan have decided to enforce stricter Anti-Money Laundering (AML) measures to trace cryptocurrency transactions from June 1. On May 23, the Japanese parliament made the decision to roll out tougher AML procedures from next month, according to a report the same day from local media outlet Kyodo News. The move aims to bring Japan’s legal framework in line with global crypto regulations. Lawmakers revised the AML legislation in December after it was deemed insufficient by the international financial watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). According to reports, a vital feature of the new measures is the enforcement…

SEC’s Gensler seeks $2.4B in funding to chase down crypto ‘misconduct’

Digital Currencies, Regulation
United States Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler says the regulator is spread thin and needs additional funding to keep up with the “increased complexity in the capital markets.” United States Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler has thrown his support behind U.S. President Joe Biden’s request to allocate a record $2.4 billion in funding for the regulator, highlighting the ongoing need to crack down on “misconduct” in the cryptocurrency industry. In prepared testimony for the March 29 budget hearing with the House Appropriations Committee, Gensler said the additional funding was needed to keep up the pace of…

U.S. Charges North Korean Banker With Crypto Laundering

Digital Currencies, Money Laundering, Prosecutions
A U.S. court charged a China-based representative of North Korea’s Foreign Trade Bank with two counts related to laundering illicit crypto proceeds for the benefit of the North Korean nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program, according to a statement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Sim Hyon Sop, a 39-year-old North Korean national, is accused of conspiring with traders in China to launder cryptocurrency stolen by North Korea’s hackers by purchasing goods through Hong Kong-based front companies. The second indictment alleges that Sim managed a scheme laundering proceeds from the work of various North Korean IT specialists, who under fake identities…

Europe passes landmark crypto regulation

Digital Currencies, Regulation
The European Parliament passed landmark crypto regulation, the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA), on 20th April, 2023 becoming one of the world’s leading jurisdictions for crypto asset regulation. MiCA is a regulatory framework for crypto assets not already covered under existing financial services legislation. The regulation includes provision for consumer and investor protection, addresses financial stability and monetary policy risks as well as measures against market manipulation, money laundering, terrorist financing and criminal activity. The European Commission first proposed MiCA in 2020, ahead of many other global economies including the US and the UK. The global crypto asset market has existed…

Crypto laundromat which washed €44M in dirty money is taken down in operation by German, US police

Digital Currencies, Money Laundering
POLICE on both sides of the Atlantic today reported bringing down a massive money laundering operation using a cryptocurrency mixer at its heart. Criminals are suspected laundering of 152 000 Bitcoins (worth roughly BILLION) through the ‘ChipMixer’ platform. Much of the dirty money was connected to darkweb markets, ransomware groups, illicit goods trafficking, procurement of child sexual exploitation material, and stolen crypto assets. Officers in Germany and the US said they took down the infrastructure of the “laundromat” platform, seizing about 1909.4 Bitcoins in 55 transactions (approx. €44.2 million) and 7 TB of data. Ransomware actors such as Zeppelin, SunCrypt,…

FROM RUSSIA WITH CRYPTO: MOSCOW-BASED EXCHANGES OFFERING TO ANONYMOUSLY CONVERT STABLECOINS FOR CASH IN THE UK

Digital Currencies
Moving money around the world has never been easier. At the click of a button, it’s possible to ping funds from one continent to another in a matter of minutes. While much of this still flows through established payment providers and financial institutions, like major multinational correspondent banks, there are a growing range of alternatives on the market. One is the proliferation of cryptocurrencies, which use blockchain technology to move digital assets from one place to another. Some cryptocurrencies, called stablecoins, peg their value to ‘real world’ assets, such as the US dollar, to help reduce fluctuations in their value.…

Report: $3.8 Billion in Crypto Stolen Last Year, Mostly by North Korea

Digital Currencies
Hackers stole US$3.8 billion worth of cryptocurrency last year, surpassing the $3.3 billion record registered in 2021 despite a dramatic fall in the crypto market’s value, according to a new report by blockchain analysis firm Chainanalysis. North Korean hackers stole most of it. Crypto theft peaked in March and October, which alone saw equivalents of $732 and $776 million stolen. Elaborate encryption mechanisms underlying blockchains — public ledgers recording transactions in blockchain networks — make them nearly invincible to hacker attacks. There are still weak spots that can be exploited, however. The report said that over 82% of all cryptocurrency…

Britain Sets Out Plans to Regulate Crypto Industry in Wake of FTX Collapse

Digital Currencies, Regulation
The U.K. formally laid out plans to regulate the cryptocurrency industry, with the government looking to rein in some of the reckless business practices that emerged over the past year and contributed to the demise of FTX. In a widely-anticipated industry consultation launched Tuesday, the government proposed a number of measures aimed at bringing regulation of crypto asset businesses in line with that of traditional financial firms. Among the proposals unveiled Tuesday was a move that would strengthen rules targeting financial intermediaries and custodians that store crypto on behalf of clients. A big theme that emerged in 2022 was the…

Watchdog and West Yorkshire police raid crypto ATM operators in UK first

Digital Currencies
Authorities have raided several sites around Leeds as part of what is believed to be the UK’s first crackdown on illegally operated crypto ATMs. Evidence was gathered from multiple sites around the city that were suspected to be hosting machines allowing customers to buy or convert traditional currencies into cryptoassets including bitcoin. The raids follow a joint investigation between the Financial Conduct Authority and the West Yorkshire police force’s digital intelligence and investigation unit. “The FCA will review evidence gathered during these visits and consider further potential enforcement action,” the regulator said. While the FCA does not regulate cryptoassets, it…

Most Criminal Cryptocurrency Funnels Through Just 5 Exchanges

Digital Currencies, Money Laundering
The crypto money-laundering market is tighter than at any time in the past decade, and the few big players are moving a “shocking” amount of currency. FOR YEARS, THE cryptocurrency economy has been rife with black market sales, theft, ransomware, and money laundering—despite the strange fact that in that economy, practically every transaction is written into a blockchain’s permanent, unchangeable ledger. But new evidence suggests that years of advancements in blockchain tracing and crackdowns on that illicit underworld may be having an effect—if not reducing the overall volume of crime, then at least cutting down on the number of laundering…

UK Treasury Considers Plan for Digital Pound

Digital Currencies
The government is considering introducing a “digital pound”, the economic secretary to the Treasury has told MPs. The UK was committed to becoming a world crypto hub, Andrew Griffith said. And the government was “a long way down the road… to establish a regime for the wholesale use, for payment purposes, of stablecoins”. Stablecoins are designed to have a predictable value linked to traditional currencies or assets such as gold. The currency, for use by households and businesses, would sit alongside cash and bank deposits, rather than replacing them. ‘Game-changing technology’A public consultation on the attributes of a digital pound…