Category: Financial Crime

Regulatory Watch News

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  Bitcoin Fog Operator Sentenced for Money Laundering Conspiracy

  US Department of Justice

  November 9, 2024

  Operator of Notorious Darknet Cryptocurrency “Mixer” Laundered $400M in Cryptocurrency since 2011

  A dual Russian-Swedish national was sentenced today to 12 years and six months in prison for his operation of the longest-running bitcoin money laundering service on the darknet. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, from 2011 through 2021, Roman Sterlingov, 36, was involved in operating Bitcoin Fog, the darknet’s longest-running cryptocurrency “mixer.” Over the course of its decade-long operation, Bitcoin Fog gained notoriety as a go-to money laundering service for criminals seeking to hide their illicit proceeds from law enforcement and processed transactions involving over 1.2 million bitcoin, valued at approximately $400 million at the time the transactions occurred. The bulk of this cryptocurrency came from darknet marketplaces and was tied to illegal narcotics, computer crimes, identity theft, and child sexual abuse material.

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  OFAC Website User Survey Reminder

  OFAC

  November 8, 2024

  The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has created a user survey to gather your feedback. We value your experience on the OFAC website and want to ensure we are meeting your needs. To help us develop robust, customer-centric solutions, we invite you to complete a brief satisfaction survey. Your input will significantly contribute to enhancing sanctions guidance, resource accessibility, and user experience. It should only take a few minutes. Act now! The survey will close on December 30, 2024.

  Take the survey here!

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  MONEYVAL chairperson and FATF president exchange views with Council of Europe Committee of Ministers

  MONEYVAL

  November 8, 2024

  On 6 November, Nicola Muccioli, Chairperson of the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL), and Elisa de Anda Madrazo, President of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), held an exchange of views with the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers. Chairperson Muccioli presented MONEYVAL’s work and achievements during 2023, as reflected in its annual report and the features of the recently launched 6th evaluation round. He highlighted MONEYVAL’s close cooperation with the FATF and its contribution to revising the global standards to counter money laundering, the financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.