Tag Archives: Money Laundering

No doubt that with bitcoin and the establishment of the crypto space about 12 years ago came the furthering of financial crime. To this day, many analysts and industry experts express concern regarding the amount of money laundering and other forms of criminal behavior that continue to rock the crypto space and drag it further away from legitimate or mainstream territory.Is Money Laundering as Big a Problem as We Thought?The good news is that while the crime may seem widespread and heavy, new...

Amid the renewed anti-Bitcoin remarks ascribed to mainstream finance stakeholders, reports have emerged showing banks in Australia working in cahoots with violent South American cocaine cartels. Despite aspersions to the contrary, the crypto market continues to account for an insignificant proportion of global financial crimes.Australian Banks Funelling Dirty Money for Drug CartelsAccording to the Australian Financial Review, banks in the country have reportedly laundered about 500 million...

​Janet Yellen, President Joe Biden’s U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee, seems to have balanced her statements about Bitcoin and crypto, after her previous negative rhetoric about the emerging technology.Janet Yellen Acknowledges Crypto’s BenefitsIn a written response to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee on Thursday (Jan. 21, 2021), Yellen stated that cryptocurrencies had benefits that needed to be explored. Yellen added that the emerging technology had the potential to “improve the efficiency...

As Bitcoin cools from its recent all-time high, HSBC has become the latest banking giant to restrict what its customers can invest in by preventing them from transferring any profits from crypto exchanges to their bank accounts.banAccording to a recent report in The Sunday Times, HSBC has blocked transactions to or from crypto exchanges as it takes a heavy-handed approach to Bitcoin and its brethren. A number of U.K. banks have also made moves to prevent their customers from buying crypto...

Singapore has announced plans to regulate all cryptocurrency activity from here on out.Singapore to Oversee All Crypto BusinessesThe Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has issued new guidance on crypto usage and states that all companies that engage in crypto transactions or offer crypto trading and custody services will have to garner a license through the Payment Services Act. This new rule was passed in early January of this year. The idea is to put a halt on all crypto-related...

A recent report by a blockchain analytics company showed that criminals have started to utilize privacy wallets to hide their illicit bitcoin transactions. The usage of such wallets has skyrocketed since 2019, and now over 13% of all crime proceeds go through them.The Growing Role Of Privacy Wallets For Illicit ActivitiesThe UK-based analytics company Elliptic highlighted in its latest report the increase in the number of money laundering cases using bitcoin. However, it pointed out a...

Alexander Vinnik – a Russian man accused of laundering bitcoin funds and for allegedly taking part in multi-million dollar cryptocurrency fraud – has been sentenced to five years in a Paris prison and is also being ordered to pay more than $120,000 in penalties.Vinnik Ordered to Prison; Will Also Pay FinesThe case involving Vinnik goes back several years. After working at the now defunct cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e, Vinnik was accused of developing a new kind of cryptocurrency malware known...

When it comes to money laundering and illicit behavior, bitcoin is still getting a bad rap, though according to Changpeng Zhao – the CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, arguably the largest and most popular exchange in the world – this isn’t always warranted.Changpeng Zhao: BTC’s Reputation Is Still SufferingIn a recent interview, Zhao explained that money laundering is indeed dangerous, though while it’s widely associated with bitcoin, the asset itself doesn’t pose a danger to society...

A man in New York City has been charged with laundering money through bitcoin. 28-year-old Vitalii Antonenko was arrested in March last year while arriving from the Ukraine to New York’s JFK airport after federal agents linked two bitcoin wallets to him that had been used to launder as much as $94 million in digital funds.Antonenko Will Face Criminal ChargesCrypto crime is no laughing matter. There are many cases seeping their way into the digital finance industry, and the methods used for...

A recent report claims that criminals primarily use cryptocurrencies for money-laundering in Latin America. Most countries in the region lack serious security measures leading to exuberant thefts executed by organized criminal groups.LATAM’s Dark SideCompiled by the cyber intelligence company IntSights, the report went in-depth on Latin America’s involvement with illegal financial activities. More specifically, it outlined numerous sophisticated organized crime groups acting in the region....