The United States is girding its loins for an election that has cast a pall over a far longer timeframe than we ever should have let it. But then again, what did you expect when so many people spent so much of the past year cut off from their normal lives and circles, growing increasingly dependent on social media as a way of connecting with the outside world? That's not a recipe for sanity, even if it was a race between sane people. The phenomenon of modern information flow has gotten an enormous amount of attention since the last, similarly …

The ease of laundering money in the U.S. before 1970 boggles the mind. Prior to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) of that year, there were no federal standards for banks to keep records on activity that fell under the category of “suspicious.” There were also no consistent reporting requirements — it was the BSA that established the $10,000 threshold that stands to this day. But it’s not like the BSA banished money laundering from U.S. shores. It wouldn’t even be until 1986 that money laundering was classified as a federal crime — a landmark in global anti-money laundering. Despite that …

The United States faces a growing threat of transnational cybercrime, particularly against its financial system. In what may be the largest prosecution of its kind in U.S. history, the U.S. Department of Justice has charged Texas tech billionaire Bob Brockman in a 39-count indictment with evading $2 billion in taxes. The businessman used encrypted devices and code words to conceal his wire fraud, tax fraud and money laundering within a network of offshore entities and bank accounts. As the CEO of Reynolds and Reynolds Co., Brockman contributed 6.4% to the United States’ current annual deficit of $3.1 trillion — more …

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and Federal Reserve are looking to get more information on smaller transactions than ever before. According to a notice of proposed rulemaking published on Friday, the agencies want to lower the $3,000 threshold established in 1995 to $250 for international transactions, meaning that financial institutions would need to exchange client information alongside all transactions greater than $250 that begin or end outside of the United States. Which is to say, the Travel Rule, as it is known, would apply to quite small amounts of money changing hands. The proposed change specifically calls out "convertible …

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who once said Facebook’s Libra token would risk the "monetary sovereignty of states,” is continuing his criticism of cryptocurrencies. In an Oct. 19 tweet, Le Maire claimed some cryptocurrencies are associated with purchasing drugs and weapons in addition to being used for money laundering. However, he also wrote that he does not “question the reliability and traceability of all blockchain technology.” Cher @cyrilpaglino, nous ne remettons pas en cause la fiabilité et la traçabilité de toutes les technologies de la blockchain. Mais certaines cryptomonnaies ont pu être utilisées pour faciliter des transactions frauduleuses (drogue, …

The founder and operator of some of the first "mixing" services in crypto will have to cough up $60 million to United States regulators, even as he faces continued criminal charges. The U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, announced on Monday a $60 million fine against Larry Dean Harmon, the man behind Helix and Coin Ninja. Harmon was arrested in February for operating a stable of tumblers, or mixers, that Washington, D.C. prosecutors allege constitute unregistered money services businesses. Those charges against him say he laundered over $300 million in Bitcoin. According to today's announcement, "FinCEN’s investigation has …

The trial of the alleged launderer of $4 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC), Alexander Vinnik, got underway in Paris on Monday. However, despite reported links to the 300,000 BTC hack of Mt. Gox in 2014, prosecutors are focusing on a 135-million-euro ($159 million) ransomware fraud targeting French businesses and organizations between 2016 and 2018. According to The Associated Press, Russian national Vinnik is being charged with extortion, money laundering and criminal association after 20 victims of the "Locky" malware paid the ransom in Bitcoin through BTC-e. Vinnik is alleged to be one of the creators of the malware and the …

In January 2020, the European Union released its Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive to increase transparency while tackling fraud, money laundering and cybercrimes. The 5AMLD extended the scope of customer due diligence checks, introduced domestic and politically exposed persons, extended the creation of central registrars of beneficial ownership, and extended Anti-Money Laundering checks to majority-owned subsidiaries outside the European Union. Related: New EU AML compliance laws could disrupt the crypto industry In December 2020, an updated Anti-Money Laundering Directive, known as the 6AMLD, will come into effect around the world, and any organizations operating within the EU will need to comply …

Law enforcement officials from around the world hav taken action against a major transnational money laundering operation involving cryptocurrency. On Oct. 15, Europol announced a successful operation across 16 countries that resulted in the arrest of 20 individuals suspected of working for the QQAAZZ criminal network. The organization is accused of laundering tens of millions of euros for top cybercriminals since 2016. The funds are allegedly transferred through international bank accounts, shell companies based in Poland and Bulgaria, and via cryptocurrency mixing services. Around 40 homes were searched across the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Latvia, and Bulgaria as part of …

The operator of crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX, 100x Group, has hired a seasoned Anti-Money Laundering (AML) specialist, Malcolm Wright, as its chief compliance officer. In an announcement on Oct. 12, the 100x emphasized Wright's profile as the current chairman of the Advisory Council and AML Working Group at Global Digital Finance, and as a speaker covering key topics that include the Financial Action Task Force's Recommendations for Virtual Asset Service Providers. 100X Group had last week reshuffled its top leadership, removing BitMEX's co-founders Arthur Hayes, Samuel Reed and Ben Delo from executive roles. Hayes, Reed and Delo were all charged …

Crypto intelligence firm CipherTrace released a study on Oct. 1 reporting that more than half of the world’s cryptocurrency exchanges had deficient customer identification processes in place against money laundering. On the same day, the United States government announced that it had formally charged BitMex, a top virtual asset service provider, for “failing to implement required anti-money laundering procedures,” among other things. The two events, surely unrelated, nonetheless appear to be part of an emerging compliance picture. Dmitri Laush, CEO of GetID — an identity verification solution provider — told Cointelegraph: “The recent U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission lawsuit against …

BitMEX's co-founder and former chief technical officer, Samuel Reed, has signed a $5 million unsecured appearance bond for his release from custody pending court proceedings. Reed had been arrested by the United States Department of Justice in Massachusetts on Oct. 1 for flouting money laundering rules in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act, as well as illegally offering derivatives trading to U.S. retail customers. Reed's fellow co-founders and colleagues, Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo, and Gregory Dwyer, all indicted with the same charges, remain "at large," according to the DoJ. According to the court documents, which were approved on Oct. 1, …