Episode 302 -- Matt Stankiewicz on DOJ's Massive Criminal Settlement with Cryptocurrency Exchange Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao
Polsinelli Podcast - An International Trade Issue That May Impact Your Business
On November 21, 2023, The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced settlement agreements with Binance Holdings Limited (“Binance”), the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, and Changpeng Zhao (affectionally known as...more
On November 21, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed its criminal indictment against Binance.com (Binance), the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, and its CEO, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao (CZ). The indictment against...more
August saw two noteworthy Russia-related enforcement actions. First, a dual Russian-German national was arrested and charged with violating the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA) when he allegedly procured microelectronics for...more
Russia - Former Special Agent in Charge of the FBI New York Counterintelligence Division Charged with Violating U.S. Sanctions on Russia (DOJ) Those involved. Charles McGonigal, former Special Agent in Charge of the FBI...more
Court Rejects Halkbank’s Claim That the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act Shields the Bank From Prosecution - A motion to dismiss an indictment accusing Turkey’s majority state-owned Halkbank of money laundering, bank...more
Report on Supply Chain Compliance 3, no. 10 (May 14, 2020) - The U.S. government charged two men with conspiring to launder money into the United States in order to purchase a Greek-owned ship to transport petroleum out...more
CEP Magazine (February 2020) - Virgil Griffith, an American citizen, was arrested Nov. 30 after speaking on blockchain solutions at the April 2019 Pyongyang Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Conference in North Korea....more
Court Rejects Attempt by Halkbank to Enter “Special Appearance” Contesting Jurisdiction - Turkish state-owned bank Halkbank’s efforts to avoid appearing in U.S. federal court for arraignment were squashed recently in a...more
ANTICORRUPTION DEVELOPMENTS - Telecommunications Company Fined $12 Million for FCPA Violations - On August 29, 2019, The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) instituted ceaseand-desist proceedings against...more
The Justice Department and the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) are on a roll. Global banks are facing renewed prosecutions, along with aggressive sanctions prosecutions of companies for...more
ANTICORRUPTION DEVELOPMENTS - SEC Proposes Amendments to Whistleblower Award Program - On June 28, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed amendments to its whistleblower award process for the first...more
Can the US government criminally prosecute non-US persons for activities that constitute secondary Iranian sanctions violations with no alleged nexus to the United States?...more
In a decision that will provide reassurance both to prosecutors and to the institutions with whom they enter into deferred prosecution agreements (“DPAs”), the Second Circuit (Katzmann, Lynch, Pooler (concurring)) held in...more
On July 12, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit overturned the district court’s decision to unseal the report of a special monitor charged with supervising HSBC Holdings plc and HSBC Bank, USA, N.A....more
On March 24, 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging Kassim Tajideen, an alleged prominent financial supporter of the Hizballah terror organization, with evading U.S. sanctions and conspiring to...more
U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Berman denied a motion to dismiss the indictment in the closely followed criminal prosecution of Reza Zarrab, a Turkish/Iranian businessman charged with conspiring to evade U.S. economic...more