Researchers have uncovered evidence that over $1 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) from addresses linked to Ryuk ransomware attacks was moved through a wallet on Binance. According to a report by Forbes on Aug. 23 the researchers took a sample of 63 transactions, representing $5.7 million of the over $61 million estimated by the FBI to have been stolen using the Ryuk ransomware. Of the $5.7 million, $1,064,865 worth of Bitcoin from multiple wallet addresses was bounced through numerous non-connected wallets before eventually finding its way to Binance, where it was cashed out. The Binance wallet has been in use …

The nation of Qatar is a World Bank “high-income economy,” backed by the world's third-largest natural gas and oil reserves. It has the third-highest GDP per capita in the world (by purchasing power parity), with very high human development. Similar to other Gulf Cooperation Council states — which also include the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain — Qatar has had to deal with the decline in global oil and gas prices after they first collapsed in 2014, and the situation has been made even more difficult by a Saudi-led embargo of the nation that started in …

Every Friday, Law Decoded delivers analysis on the week’s critical stories in the realms of policy, regulation and law. Editor’s note The political machinations of Eastern Europe have dominated recent headlines. Protests unprecedented since the fall of the Soviet Union have rocked Belarus for weeks. Outrage over the Aug. 8 election that has seen challenger Svetlana Tikhanovskaya flee the country has threatened the longtime dominion of Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, the so-called “last dictator in Europe.” Protestors are calling the 80% win for Lukashenko a fraud. The regime has tried to crack down with its traditional tactics of disinformation and …

In the case of United Kingdom-based Control-Finance and its AWOL operator Benjamin Reynolds, the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission asked the court to order Reynolds pay nearly half a billion dollars on Aug. 20. In a legal action that began in June of last year, the CFTC has been unsuccessful in its attempts to locate Reynolds. The commission alleges that Reynolds laundered 22,858 Bitcoin from May to October of 2017 — by their estimates worth $147 million at the time, but as of press time valued at $269 million. The CFTC’s proposed judgment asks for $429 — nearly three …

Cryptocurrency firms in Singapore can now draw upon detailed guidance for their license applications to offer regulated services in the city-state. On Aug. 13, the Association of Cryptocurrency Enterprises and Startups, Singapore (ACCESS), rolled out its new Code of Practice to help these firms in their applications for a payments service license. The license has been mandatory for any entity looking to provide specified payment services — including digital payments and the trading of digital tokens — since Singapore’s Payment Services Act came into force in January of this year. ACCESS had the support of the Monetary Authority of Singapore …

The operators of a global cryptocurrency-based Ponzi scheme have been charged with fraud and money laundering following a United States Homeland Security Investigations probe. According to an announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice, four of the five alleged operators of AirBit Club, which allegedly netted tens of millions of dollars from victims, were arrested and due to appear in court on Aug. 18, while the fifth was arrested in Panama and is awaiting extradition to the U.S. The scheme was launched in late 2015 and sold as a multi-level marketing club in the cryptocurrency industry. The defendants purportedly hosted …

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is collaborating with law enforcement authorities in Ukraine to take down some large-scale money laundering schemes. Working with the exchange, Ukraine’s cyber police identified and arrested a group of criminals involved in a $42 million ransomware and money laundering operation, Binance told Cointelegraph in a criminal investigation report on Aug. 18. According to the report, the criminal group has been laundering millions of dollars in cryptocurrencies since 2018. A Binance representative said that the suspects were all Ukranian nationals, and were arrested in June 2020. According to Binance, the group was primarily operating in …

Cryptocurrency firms in Ireland will soon be regulated in line with the latest European legal framework for the prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing. On Aug. 10, the Cabinet of Ireland approved a bill to transpose the criminal justice elements of the European Union’s Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD5) into national law, thereby strengthening existing legislation. Approval from the Cabinet gives Ireland’s Minister for Justice and Equality, Helen McEntee, the go-ahead to publish the new bill, entitled The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020. Among other provisions, the bill brings virtual currency providers and online …

A major financial watchdog in Russia is developing a new cryptocurrency analytics tool to trace major cryptos like Bitcoin (BTC) and privacy coins. Russia’s Federal Financial Monitoring Service, a federal service combating money laundering and terrorist financing, is reportedly planning to build a new analytics platform for tracking cryptocurrency transactions via artificial intelligence. Dubbed “Transparent Blockchain,” the new system is designed to track the movement of digital financial assets and identify crypto service providers to fight illicit activity related to digital assets, local news agency RBC reported on Aug. 10. According to the report, the new system is able to …

In June 2019, the intergovernmental Financial Action Task Force (FATF) introduced its revised set of standards for virtual asset service providers. The document establishes the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements that regulated VASPs — the term mainly referring to cryptocurrency trading platforms — must eventually implement in their day-to-day operations. The guidelines are framed as recommendations, and the FATF leaves it to the participating nations’ governments to develop their own regulations in accordance with suggested principles. The watchdog has also set a 12-month review timeframe to monitor the public and private sectors’ progress in putting the revised standards into …

Konstantin Ignatov, a major figure behind OneCoin cryptocurrency exit scam, was dismissed from a civil class action brought by OneCoin victims. According to an Aug. 7 report by Finance Magnates, OneCoin investors have agreed for a settlement with Ignatov. In a court filing on Aug. 6, plaintiffs Donald Berdeaux and Christine Grablis agreed to discontinue the claims asserted against Ignatov. Still facing up to 90 years in jail in a legal action brought by the United States’ Department of Justice (DOJ), Ignatov is apparently no longer one of the key figures in a civil case, which is related to financial …

Recently, there have been discussions regarding Estonia’s new law on cryptocurrency, the revocation of 500 crypto licenses in Estonia, and companies exiting from Estonian regulatory jurisdiction. Let’s focus on three major recommendations. Do your research before engaging with a legal partner in Estonia Yes, it might sound odd, but I think one of the reasons why companies have been losing their crypto licenses is some consulting companies. I won’t mention specific firms, but I am aware that some consulting companies conduct very aggressive marketing, spamming their adverts for a single reason — to sell a “ready company” with licenses and, …