News and commentary about white-collar crime, enforcement, and compliance
Harry Cassin
Publisher and Editor
Andy Spalding
Senior Editor
Jessica Tillipman
Senior Editor
Bill Steinman
Senior Editor
Richard L. Cassin
Editor at Large
Elizabeth K. Spahn
Editor Emeritus
Cody Worthington
Contributing Editor
Julie DiMauro
Contributing Editor
Thomas Fox
Contributing Editor
Marc Alain Bohn
Contributing Editor
Bill Waite
Contributing Editor
Russell A. Stamets
Contributing Editor
Richard Bistrong
Contributing Editor
Eric Carlson
Contributing Editor
During our time investigating FCPA violations for the FBI and the DOJ, we learned money launderers embrace innovation quickly for the simple objective of self-preservation. Their leveraging of cryptocurrency has accelerated the risk and compliance challenges to organizations around the globe.… Continue Reading
Rarely a month passes without the U.S. “maximum pressure” campaign against the likes of Venezuela and Iran making headlines, but a lesser-known, yet similarly robust, sanctions offensive is being quietly waged by the Treasury’s Office for Foreign Assets Control.… Continue Reading
With plans to launch its own cryptocurrency later this year, Russia has updated its anti-bribery and AML laws to aid its burgeoning digital economy while dealing with corruption risks associated with the new technology amid reports the Federal Security Service (FSB) allegedly tried to extract a bribe worth $1 million in bitcoin from a media mogul last year.… Continue Reading
On July 6, the head of Turkey’s central bank Murat Cetinkaya — who in 2017 publicly stated that he felt threatened by Bitcoin — was unexpectedly removed from his job by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.… Continue Reading
The Whistleblower Office of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued an alert Thursday asking for help from whistleblowers to stop fraud and manipulation involving virtual currencies.
The CFTC pays rewards for original information that leads to a successful enforcement action with more than $1 million in penalties.… Continue Reading
Luxury Swiss watchmaker Hublot announced a new product this week: a $25,000 watch that can only be bought with bitcoin.
The timepiece, called the Big Bang Meca-10 P2P (yes, really), is in celebration of the 10th anniversary of Satoshi Nakamoto’s whitepaper on bitcoin that kicked off the cryptocurrency.… Continue Reading
Malta’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has described his country as the global trailblazer in the regulation of blockchain-based businesses and the jurisdiction of quality and choice for world class fintech companies.… Continue Reading
At a recent cryptocurrency workshop, financial investigators from the Interpol and Europol organizations from over 30 nations discussed measures to combat the misuse of cryptocurrencies by criminals.
This meeting was in response to the report released by Europol (with headquarters in the Hague, Netherlands) which stated (pdf) that more than 40 percent of online transactions for illegal ends used Bitcoin, crypto mixers, and tumblers. … Continue Reading
While digital currencies — Bitcoin or one of its many variations — continue to make inroads into payments markets, many companies, financial institutions, government bodies and others are still playing catch-up. … Continue Reading
It’s ironic that Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, the richest tech investor in the Middle East, criticized block chain technology and Bitcoin by calling it a “fraud.”
The Gulf Cooperation Council countries, including Saudi Arabia, have been working since 2014 to weave sharia compliant Blockchain technology and Bitcoin into their existing financial and legal infrastructure, while transforming them all at the same time.… Continue Reading
The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network assessed a $110 million civil penalty Wednesday against BTC-e for willfully violating U.S. anti-money laundering laws.
It was FinCEN’s first enforcement action against a foreign-located Money Services Business or MBS doing business in the United States.… Continue Reading
Disclosure rules for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are seriously lagging at the state and federal level. Without a standardized ethics framework to monitor public officials’ cryptocurrency transactions, potential conflicts of interest and even bribery can arise and remain undetected.… Continue Reading