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
Crypto’s two calling cards, decentralization and anonymity, can lead to abuses, such as money laundering and tax evasion. The U.S. Treasury has long combatted crypto money laundering...more
The United States manages more than three dozen separate economic and trade sanctions programs. Those programs target specified foreign governments along with thousands of named individuals, groups and entities in accordance...more
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, 2023, the Cayman Islands registered cryptocurrency exchange, Binance Holdings Limited (the “Company”), pled guilty to criminal violations related to allegedly failing to register as a money transmitting...more
Binance to Pay Historic $4 Billion Fine - Binance Holdings Limited, the operator of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, agreed to pay $4.3 billion to resolve allegations that it violated the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)...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
To keep you informed of recent activities, below are several of the most significant federal and state events that have influenced the Consumer Financial Services industry over the past week...more
As the world now knows, Binance Holdings Limited, doing business as Binance.com (“Binance” or the “Company”), has entered into a plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”)....more
AML Developments - What You Need to Know - On November 21, 2023, the U.S. Justice Department unsealed charges against cryptocurrency exchange Binance and Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao for violating anti-money laundering...more
In two prior posts, this blog tracked the ongoing intrigue of how the various branches of the United States government interact with blockchain and cryptocurrency organizations. We discussed the Wyoming law allowing...more
Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixer, recently suffered two major setbacks in federal regulatory efforts to block its use and prosecute its founders. First, a federal district court threw out a lawsuit challenging the...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
Crypto Asset Company Settles Sanctions Violations for $7.5 million- On May 1, the U.S. Department of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced a $7.5 million settlement with crypto asset company Poloniex LLC for 65,942 apparent...more
Executive Summary - The North Korean threat to the crypto ecosystem is the highest form of immediate risk to the crypto-economy driven by a regime that seeks to profit from its misuse to reinforce its regime and fuel all its...more
Key Takeaways - A judge has issued an opinion in a first-of-its-kind criminal sanctions case involving the use of virtual currency to evade U.S. economic sanctions. The opinion reinforces the Treasury Department’s position...more
Last Friday, a federal Magistrate Judge in Washington, D.C. wrote an opinion, in a still sealed case, explaining why he approved a DOJ criminal complaint against an American citizen accused of transmitting more than $10...more
At a sanctions conference held in Washington D.C. on May 5, government officials, practitioners and corporations highlighted the government’s broadening focus on anti-corruption enforcement, across more traditionally siloed...more
On September 21, 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced several actions focused on disrupting criminal digital finance infrastructure, including virtual currency...more
In the past, sanctioned jurisdictions like Venezuela have embraced virtual currency as a way to bypass channels that involve U.S. dollars, blunting the impact of U.S. economic sanctions policies aimed at isolating those...more
U.S. Developments - Members of Congress Respond to IRS Tax Guidance for Digital Assets - On December 20, eight members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue...more
Stepping outside of SWIFT - Since its inception more than a decade ago, cryptocurrency has been viewed as a way to supplant traditional global methods of exchanging money. Today, as virtual currencies proliferate,...more
ANTICORRUPTION DEVELOPMENTS – Canadian Mining Company Settles with SEC over FCPA Charges – On March 26, Kinross Gold Corporation settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its alleged failure to...more