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
Compliance with sanctions regimes has been a priority for debt markets. Amid rising geopolitical tensions, the stakes for lenders and borrowers are higher than ever - Intensifying geopolitical tensions and the US...more
On June 21, 2024, the Biden administration rolled out its outbound investment screening regulations. Last year, the Biden administration published an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) that outlined the broad...more
The proposed regulations would implement President Biden’s Executive Order that restricts certain outbound investments from the US. On June 21, 2024, the US Department of the Treasury (Treasury) issued a Notice of Proposed...more
New developments in international trade laws will have tangible and far-reaching impacts on transactions as well as day-to-day business operations. President Biden’s signing of HR 815 means that once time-barred historic...more
Congress has doubled the statute of limitations for violations of most U.S. sanctions programs administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. Companies should be aware of the...more
On April 24, 2024, President Biden signed into law an emergency supplemental appropriations law, H.R. 815 (Public Law 118-50), that provides substantial military aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan and could force the sale of...more
On April 24, 2024, President Biden signed into law a long-debated $98 billion foreign aid and national security legislative package (the “Act”) providing funds for Israel, Taiwan, and Ukraine, and authorizing new sanctions...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
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
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
Earlier this month, John Can Unsalan, the president of a steel-making company with ties to Russian oligarchs, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, based on financial transactions committed with...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
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
The United States, primarily through Presidential action under the statutory authority of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”), has empowered the U.S. Department of the Treasury and its Office of Foreign...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
The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) recently issued an “Updated Advisory on Potential Sanctions Risks for Facilitating Ransomware Payments.” This advisory continues prior advisory...more
On June 2, 2021, Anne Neuberger, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology, published a rare open letter to the corporate executives and business leaders of...more
Recent ransomware attacks against U.S. critical infrastructure, which includes the energy sector’s production of oil and natural gas, and other sources of electricity and power, have shed a spotlight on the importance of...more
It seems almost every day there are reports of new developments under the U.S. sanctions laws. Yet many U.S. companies do not understand the significance of these laws....more
On October 1, 2020, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued an advisory regarding the potential sanctions risk for entities that facilitate ransomware payments. OFAC defined “ransomware” as: A form...more
On October 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) released an advisory regarding potential sanctions risks related to facilitating ransomware payments... OFAC is the federal...more
Ransomware has emerged as one of the most virulent cybersecurity risks, affecting public and private sector alike. In recent years, ransomware attacks have become more focused, sophisticated, costly, and numerous. Threat...more
On October 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued an “Advisory on Potential Sanctions Risks for Facilitating Ransomware Payments.” The Advisory, which does not carry the...more
A congressional report released on July 29, 2020, by the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, exposes how Russian oligarchs looking to evade U.S. sanctions are able to exploit loopholes in the art industry....more