In what is believed to be the first criminal case examining whether so-called “initial coin offerings” (ICOs) are securities under U.S. law, on September 11, 2018, Judge Raymond J. Dearie of the U.S. District Court for the...more
On July 18, 2018, the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”), published its report to the July 2018 G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ meeting. The report sets out FATF’s ongoing work to fight money laundering...more
7/26/2018
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
EU ,
FATF ,
FinCEN ,
G20 ,
Money Laundering ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
In a recently published letter to the Senate Finance Committee, FinCEN confirmed that when an ICO token is a “convertible virtual currency,” administrators or exchangers of the token would be “money transmitters” under...more
3/14/2018
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Interpretive Letters ,
Money Services Business ,
Money Transmitter ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
On September 4, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held in United States v. CITGO Petroleum Co. that the Migratory Bird Treaty Act’s take prohibition does not include the unintentional take of migratory...more
Federal authorities announced this week a settlement with Ripple Labs Inc. and its subsidiary, XRP Fund II, resolving an investigation by FinCEN and the Department of Justice into violations of the Bank Secrecy Act. ...more
This was a banner week in AML enforcement for the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. First, the SDNY, on behalf of FinCEN, announced it has filed an enforcement action against Thomas Haider, the...more
Yesterday, December 16, 2014, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (“CSBS”) released a Policy Statement on state virtual currency regulation, and a Draft Model Regulatory Framework (“Draft Framework”) to support its...more
The virtual currency industry is in the news once again following the October 1, 2013, Federal Bureau of Investigation’s shutdown of the “Silk Road” website. As part of the shutdown of the well-known underworld bazaar, the...more
Riding the coattails of an August 6, 2013 federal court ruling that alleged Ponzi-schemer Trendon Shavers’ Bitcoin-based investment scheme constituted an investment contract, and therefore a “security” under the federal...more
In response to the SEC’s first civil complaint arising from online virtual currency trading, alleged Bitcoin Ponzi schemer Trendon Shavers recently challenged the district court’s authority to hear the case. ...more
On July 23, 2013, the SEC ventured into the electronic currency world by filing a civil complaint against virtual currency “trader” Trendon Shavers and his company, Bitcoin Savings and Trust, in the U.S. District Court for...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the Commission or SEC) Division of Corporation Finance provided answers to questions regarding the Commission’s rules adopted in response to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and...more
Asset Seizures and Arrests Mark Recent Federal Virtual Currency Enforcement Actions -
Federal authorities have initiated several recent enforcement actions that are indicative of continuing regulatory changes in the...more
Supply chain compliance is on the government’s enforcement radar like never before. If the recent Executive Order on Trafficking in Government Contracts and final SEC Conflict Minerals Rules were not notice enough, the...more