Matt Stankiewicz, Partner at The Volkov Law Group, rejoins the podcast to review the recent Ripple decision by District Judge Torres at the Southern District of New York and the recent indictment of Celsius Networks' CEO.
On...more
On June 6, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) officially filed suit against Coinbase, Inc. (“Coinbase”) alleging the company operated as an unregistered securities exchange, broker, and clearing...more
In a complaint filed June 5, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) is suing the world’s larged cryptocurrency exchange – Binance Holdings Ltd. (“Binance”), BAM Trading Services Inc. (“BAM Trading”), BAM...more
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
On top of all the legal trouble for FTX’s founder and CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried (“SBF”), the company has also filed for bankruptcy and SBF has been ousted as CEO. John J. Ray III, an attorney and bankruptcy professional, has...more
12/22/2022
/ Books & Records ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Disbursement Issues ,
Financial Statements ,
Internal Controls ,
Investment ,
Popular ,
Trading Platforms
The cryptocurrency world is in shock watching the events unfold around the stunning collapse of FTX, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world. The exchange seemed untouchable just days before everything fell apart. ...more
In parallel with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) settled with Bittrex, Inc. (“Bittrex”), a cryptocurrency exchange that allows users to trader virtual assets,...more
10/21/2022
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
BSA/AML ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Financial Transactions ,
FinCEN ,
Money Laundering ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanction Violations ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
On October 11, 2022, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) announced settlement agreements with Bittrex, Inc. (“Bittrex”), a cryptocurrency exchange based in...more
Continuing with both its crackdown on cybercriminals and illicit digital marketplaces, along with its continued economic pressure on the Russian Federation, OFAC has sanctioned two entities that fit both criteria. On April...more
4/13/2022
/ Cryptocurrency ,
Currency Exchange ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Darknet ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Military Conflict ,
Money Services Business ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Russia ,
Ukraine ,
Virtual Currency
Unsurprisingly, we’ve been fielding a significant number of inquiries regarding the latest Russian sanctions. Most companies seek black and white answers – what can we do and what can’t we do. However, sanctions are very...more
Ransomware attacks are on the rise and companies everywhere should be taking action to strengthen their cybersecurity defenses and resiliency to ensure their internal systems are able to withstand cybercrime attacks. ...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
In early October, OFAC released a guidance brochure on sanctions compliance, specifically tailored for the cryptocurrency and virtual assets industry. For seasoned compliance veterans, it ends up reading like a refresher...more
The crypto industry is abuzz with a recent scandal involving OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace in the industry (for those not in the know, NFT stands for non-fungible token, and the most common use case at the moment is to...more
With the rise of digital currencies, it was inevitably going to attract the attention of governments. Not just in the regulatory sense, but also in terms of utilization. The blockchain technology underlying these virtual...more
On Friday March 12, Bloomberg News reported that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) has opened an inquiry into Binance Holdings Ltd. (“Binance”) to investigate allegations that the exchange allowed US citizens...more
3/16/2021
/ Bitcoin ,
CFTC ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Derivatives ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Investigations ,
Know Your Customers ,
Popular ,
Trading Platforms ,
Virtual Currency
In late February, the New York Attorney General’s office (“NYAG”) settled with Bitfinex and Tether stemming from charges relating to financial mismanagement. The NYAG alleged that Bitfinex and Tether attempted to cover up...more
3/15/2021
/ Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Mismanagement ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Stablecoins ,
Virtual Currency
On Monday, Ripple Labs, Inc.; Brad Garlinghouse, CEO; Christian Larsen, board chairman; and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed a joint letter with Judge Analisa Torres in the Southern District of New...more
Following the SEC’s December filing, Ripple Labs, Inc. has now responded and taken its first steps to defend itself against the allegations. Ripple’s first move was to file FOIA request with the SEC to obtain the information...more
In December 2020, three days before Christmas, the SEC filed a significant case against Ripple, the major cryptocurrency company. Ripple is a major cryptocurrency company, utilizing the technology to create a global digital...more
1/13/2021
/ Accredited Investors ,
Compliance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Offering Fraud ,
Popular ,
Ripple ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Unregistered Securities
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
On June 21, 2019, OFAC changed its requirements for reporting on blocked or rejected transactions under 31 C.F.R. §501.604. With little fanfare, the interim rule published in the Federal Register greatly expands the...more
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
Sanctions law can be complex. The sanctions programs themselves are often a tangled web of do’s and don’t’s – various wind down periods, General Licenses, payment structures, and more. ...more