On April 22, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the indictment of 10 Venezuelan individuals for conspiring to violate the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (“IEEPA”). According to the DOJ, the...more
On March 26, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) unsealed an indictment against prominent cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin and two of its founders, Chun Gan and Ke Tang. The DOJ charged the exchange and its founders...more
On February 28, 2024, President Biden issued a new Executive Order in order to better secure the private data of U.S. citizens from being exploited by foreign adversaries of the United States. By issuing his Executive Order...more
3/7/2024
/ Biden Administration ,
Data Brokers ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Due Diligence ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Adversaries ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Personal Data ,
Risk Management
Binance’s $4.3 billion fine is one of the largest penalties the DOJ has ever obtained from a corporate defendant. Furthermore, its founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao (“CZ”) was also personally subject to a fine, amounting to...more
12/14/2023
/ BSA/AML ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
FinCEN ,
FinTech ,
Money Transmitter ,
Settlement ,
Statutory Violations
Binance’s settlement with the DOJ represents one of the largest criminal corporate enforcement actions ever. A review of the facts reveals that the penalty is likely warranted, as the misconduct was driven from the very...more
12/13/2023
/ BSA/AML ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
FinTech ,
Know Your Customers ,
Money Transmitter ,
Settlement ,
Statutory Violations
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
12/12/2023
/ BSA/AML ,
CFTC ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
FinCEN ,
FinTech ,
Guilty Pleas ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Money Transmitter ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Settlement ,
Statutory Violations
On November 1, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) brought charges against cryptocurrency project SafeMoon LLC and its U.S. subsidiary SafeMoon US LLC, along with...more
11/17/2023
/ Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Fraud ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Unregistered Securities
On Wednesday, January 18, 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) unsealed a criminal complaint in the Eastern District of New York charging Russian-national Anatoly Legkodymov, a senior executive at Bitzlato Ltd....more
In early October, U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced the creation of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (“NCET”). The NCET will handle the Department’s investigations...more
11/12/2021
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bitcoin ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Enforcement Strike Teams ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Instruments ,
Financial Markets ,
Government Investigations ,
Policy Statement ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Virtual Currency ,
White Collar Crimes
DOJ’s Cyber Digital Task Force’s report, “Cryptocurrency: An Enforcement Framework,” provides a comprehensive on the growing partnerships between DOJ and other offices within the executive branch....more
11/3/2020
/ BitMEX ,
CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Transactions ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
IRS ,
Know Your Customers ,
Money Laundering ,
OCC ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Virtual Currency ,
White Collar Crimes
Earlier this month, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), through its Cyber Digital Task Force (hereinafter the “Task Force”), published its 83-page crypto guidance report titled “Cryptocurrency: An Enforcement Framework.”...more
11/3/2020
/ CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Action Task Force ,
Financial Crimes ,
FinCEN ,
IRS ,
Mail Fraud ,
Money Laundering ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wire Fraud
Many organizations struggle with their internal culture for a variety of reasons. Establishing a strong and compliant corporate culture is paramount for an effective compliance program, as even the DOJ has harped on in its...more