Tagged: fincen

Chainalysis Provides Insights After OFAC Designates Russian Exchange Cryptex and Fraud Shop Facilitator UAPS, FinCEN Names PM2BTC

On September 26, 2024, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Russia-based exchange Cryptex and Sergey Sergeevich Ivanov (a.k.a. UAPS a.k.a TALEON), who facilitated laundering “for fraud shops, ransomware payments, darknet markets, and other criminal actors.” Following these developments,… Read More

American Fintech Council Responds to FinCEN Customer Identification Program Information Request

The American Fintech Council, an association representing Fintech companies and BaaS banks, has submitted a response to the US Department of Treasury, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Request for Information (RFI) related to existing requirements for banks under the Customer Identification Program (CIP) Rule. The… Read More

US Department of Treasury: FinCEN Joins with Other Regulators Regarding Terrorist Financing Task Force in Regard to Israel War

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), part of the US Department of Treasury, has partnered with 12 other global regulatory agencies to form the Counter Terrorist Financing Taskforce – Israel (CTFTI). The members include, Australia, Canada, Estonia, France, Germany, Israel, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New… Read More

Largest in History: CFTC, US Department of Treasury Reveal Details of Binance Settlement, Crypto Exchange to Exit US

As was reported earlier today, Binance has settled charges in a comprehensive manner, paying total penalties of $4.3 billion, described as the largest settlement of its kind ever. Binance is noted as the largest crypto exchange in the world, handling approximately 60% of centralized digital… Read More

FinCEN Issues Statement on Funding of Terrorist Hamas Group, Tells Financial Firms to be On Alert

FinCEN has issued a statement on funding of the terrorist Hamas group following the atrocities the group perpetrated in Israel. FinCEN urged financial services firms to be vigilant in any activity that may be used to fund Hamas. This is inclusive of virtual asset service… Read More

Crypto and Money Laundering: Still a ways to go for Law Enforcement, Regulators to Catch Up with the Crooks

Detractors of digital assets, or crypto, typically point to the utilization of crypto to pursue nefarious activities such as money laundering. Rules exist for financial transactions regarding “know your customer” (KYC) and “anti-money laundering” (AML), but they are enforced to various degrees depending on the… Read More

Department of Justice Arrest Operator of Bitzlato in Miami, Claim Crypto Exchange Partnered with Dark Web Marketplace Hydra

“Fueled a high-tech axis of cryptocrime.” The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced the arrest of Anatoly Legkodymov, 40, a Russian national who resides in Shenzhen, China, as the founder and operator of Bitzlato, a crypto exchange the feds have alleged to have processed… Read More

Last Week, Bittrex Was Penalized by the US Department of Treasury. Will More Crypto Trading Platforms Receive Similar Treatment?

Last week, it was reported that Bittrex was the target of an enforcement action emanating from the US Department of Treasury. Two divisions at Treasury, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced enforcement actions. The crypto trading… Read More

US Department of Treasury Targets Bittrex, Crypto Exchange Hit with Two Enforcement Actions, Penalty Totals $53 Million

The US Department of Treasury has revealed two enforcement actions against the crypto exchange Bittrex. According to a statement issued by Treasury, Bittrex has settled for $24 million with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and for $29 million with Financial Crimes Enforcement Network… Read More

Today: House Committee on Financial Services Hearing on FinCEN plus Fintech Task Force to Discuss Mobile Banking, Payments

The House Committee on Financial Services has a busy day planned. Frist, a full Committee hearing is scheduled to address “Oversight of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network”  or FinCEN. FinCEN is the enforcement arm of the US Department of Treasury. Himamauli “Him” Das, Acting Director… Read More

Here is FinCEN Alert on Russian Sanctions and Evasion, Includes “Virtual Currency Exchanges”

Yesterday, FinCEN, the enforcement branch of the US Department of Treasury, posted an Alert on “Increased Vigilance for Potential Russian Sanctions Evasion Attempts.” Russia, along with Belarus, have been targeted with economic sanctions designed to pressure these countries following the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. FinCEN… Read More

White House Report: Executive Order on Crypto Regulation Expected this Week

Multiple reports are claiming that the White House will issue an Executive Order on cryptocurrency at some point this week. The news follows days of concern from some policymakers that Russia and its elites may leverage crypto to evade the growing list of economic sanctions…. Read More

US Department of Treasury Reports on Money Laundering in the Art Market, NFTs May Present New Risk

Yesterday, the US Department of Treasury issued a statement on illicit activity in the “high-value art market.” More specifically, activities that include money laundering and terrorist financing risks. The study found that while there is some evidence of money laundering risk in the high-value art… Read More

Lenders Beware: 2022 Could See Increased Enforcement Activity

2022 could see aggressive movement by some federal agencies, an experienced industry hand suggests. Joseph Lynyak III is a partner at the international law firm Dorsey & Whitney and one of the nation’s foremost experts in the country on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB),… Read More

FinCEN Is Seeking Comments on Modernization of US AML/CFT Regulations

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the US Department of the Treasury that collects and analyzes information about financial transactions to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes, is issuing a request for information (RFI) “seeking comments on ways to… Read More

BitMEX CEO Says Crypto Is Changing and They’re Changing with It, After $100M Penalty Pertaining to Alleged Illegal Trading, AML Violations

Crypto is “changing,” and BitMEX is “changing with it” according to Alexander Höptner, the CEO at the Bitcoin Mercantile Exchange. In a blog post dated August 10, 2021, the team at BitMEX revealed that they’ve reached a “resolution” with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission… Read More

Bitmex Hit with $100 Milllion Penalty Pertaining to CFTC Action Claiming Illegal Crypto Trading, AML Violations and More

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has announced a consent order against BitMEX and its affiliated entities. The order stems from a CFTC action filed on October 1, 2020, against BitMEX and its three individual founders, Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed. The CFTC’s… Read More

Jake Chervinsky, General Counsel at Compound Finance, Shares Insights on Newly Proposed Infrastructure Bill

Jake Chervinsky, the General Counsel at Compound Finance, recently shared insights and his take on the deal with the recently proposed US infrastructure bill. 1/ 🚨 Here's the deal with the US infrastructure bill: A new provision has been added that expands the Tax Code's… Read More

FinCEN Issues Very First Priorities List for AML/CFT Policy, Includes Use of Crypto for Ransomware Payments, Money Laundering

On June 30, 2021, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the US Department of the Treasury that collects and analyzes information about financial transactions in order to combat domestic and international money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes, issued its first… Read More

Over 4.5M Unique Bitcoin Addresses Associated with 72K+ Iranian IP Addresses, CipherTrace Sanctions Research Reveals

Sanctions research from blockchain security firm CipherTrace reveals that over 72,000 “unique” Iranian IP addresses have been linked to over 4.5 million “unique” Bitcoin (BTC) addresses. CipherTrace notes that since monitoring sanctions-related IP usage across the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain network, they’ve been able to identify… Read More

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