Beleaguered cryptocurrency exchange FTX has filed for bankruptcy in the US after it failed to secure a rescue package.
The firm’s founder and CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried has also resigned, but will remain at the company to assist with an orderly transition.
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Two Estonian Nationals Plead Guilty in $577M Cryptocurrency Fraud Scheme
US Department of Justice
Two Estonian nationals pleaded guilty yesterday for their operation of a massive, multi-faceted cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that victimized hundreds of thousands of people from across the world, including in the United States. As part of the defendants’ guilty pleas, they agreed to forfeit assets valued over $400 million obtained during the conspiracy.
According to court documents, Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turõgin, both 40, sold contracts to customers entitling them to a share of cryptocurrency mined by the defendants’ purported cryptocurrency mining service, HashFlare. Cryptocurrency mining is the process of using computers to generate cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin, for profit.
FINTRAC imposes an administrative monetary penalty on Argosy Securities Inc.
FINTRAC
FINTRAC announced today that it has imposed an administrative monetary penalty on Argosy Securities Inc. Following a compliance examination, this independent wealth management firm in Richmond Hill, Ontario, considered a securities dealer, was imposed an administrative monetary penalty of $66,000 on September 12, 2024, for non-compliance with Part 1 of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and associated Regulations.
Man arrested for terrorist financing and ‘hawala’ banking
Fiscal Information and Investigation Service - FIOD
The FIOD arrested a man on Monday 27 January and conducted a search. The 57-year-old man from the municipality of Velsen is suspected of banking without a permit, terrorist financing and violating the sanctions law. His home was searched and mobile phones, hawala administration and digital data carriers were seized. The suspect was brought before the council chamber on Tuesday 11 February and was detained for 30 days.