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Virtual Currency › Digital Currency › Money Laundering

Virtual Currency (aka Digital Currency or Digital Money) is a type of currency or medium of exchange that is not issued by any government nor guaranteed by a government currency. Despite lacking legal tender... more +
Virtual Currency (aka Digital Currency or Digital Money) is a type of currency or medium of exchange that is not issued by any government nor guaranteed by a government currency. Despite lacking legal tender status, Virtual Currency is still traded and exchanged in some environments, typically online environments or communities. Bitcoin is the most well-known form of Virtual Currency.    less -
Ballard Spahr LLP

Blockchain Analysis and Related Expert Testimony Admissible In Criminal Trial

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It is challenging for law enforcement to track down and trace illicit activities conducted through digital currencies. The process can be very time- and resource-intensive. Further, securing charges and arrests, and...more

Troutman Pepper

FinCEN to Shed Light on Illicit Use of Virtual Currency Mixing Through Enhanced Record Keeping and Reporting Requirements

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The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) recently announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that identifies international convertible virtual currency mixing as a class of...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

Kraken Settlement Demonstrates Importance of Sanctions Monitoring for Transactions — Not Just When Onboarding Customers

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The Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced (here and here) yesterday that virtual currency exchange Payward, Inc. – better known as Kraken – has agreed to pay $362,158.70 in order to settle its potential civil...more

K2 Integrity

The North Korean Crypto Threat

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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

Ballard Spahr LLP

OFAC Designates “Hydra” –  the Largest Darknet Market – and Third Russian Virtual Currency Exchange

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On April 5, 2022 the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced sanctions against “the world’s largest and most prominent darknet market, Hydra Market” and Garantex, a virtual...more

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck

NFTs: Gateway to Financial Independence or Litigation Risk?

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NFTs—or “nonfungible tokens”—are everywhere. What was once seen as a collectors’ item for crypto geeks and LeBron James TopShop fanatics is now gaining popularity with a much wider audience. Take the recent example of the...more

Cooley LLP

US Justice Department Appoints First National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Director

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The US Department of Justice has announced the appointment of Eun Young Choi as the first director of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team. Choi has been a DOJ prosecutor for nearly a decade and most recently served...more

Cooley LLP

US Justice Department Appoints First National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Director

Cooley LLP on

The US Department of Justice has announced the appointment of Eun Young Choi as the first director of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team. Choi has been a DOJ prosecutor for nearly a decade and most recently served...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Is Regulation of NFTs to Combat Financial Crime on the Horizon?

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On February 4, 2022, the United States Department of the Treasury (the Treasury) issued a report titled, "Study of the Facilitation of Money Laundering and Terror Finance Through the Trade in Works of Art." The report...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

A Record $3.6 Billion Seizure and the Twisting Paths of Money Laundering in the Digital World

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On February 8, 2022, the Department of Justice announced the seizure of a record $3.6 billion in stolen BTC it alleges was tied to the 2016 hack of Bitfinex, a virtual currency exchange. A husband-wife duo, Ilya “Dutch”...more

McGlinchey Stafford

Cryptocurrency: Wild West or Wall Street? [More with McGlinchey, Ep. 22]

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Every day, the mainstream media and social media are filled with references to cryptocurrency. Depending on who you ask, it’s either simply the next way to spend your money, or it’s a haven for criminal activity. In this...more

Vinson & Elkins LLP

Cryptocurrency 101 – DOJ’s New Cryptocurrency Enforcement Framework Provides Guidance And Promises Of Heightened Scrutiny Of...

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On October 8, 2020, the Attorney General’s Cyber-Digital Task Force (“the Task Force”) issued its Cryptocurrency Enforcement Framework (the “Report”), which offers background on virtual assets, enforcement milestones, and...more

Morrison & Foerster LLP

Bitcoin Is “Money” For Purposes Of D.C. Money Transmission Law, Says Federal Court

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A recent federal district court ruling in a criminal anti-money laundering case suggests that the transmission of virtual currency on behalf of another person requires a state money transmission license—even if the state’s...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

Sorry, No Picture Of George Or Abe, But Still Money

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Recently, the United States District Court of the District of Columbia refused to dismiss money laundering charges against a defendant who was allegedly engaged in a darknet cryptocurrency scheme. See U.S. v. Harmon, Case...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

FinCEN Director Blanco Urges Collaboration Across Virtual Currency Industry to Comply with Travel Rule

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Kenneth Blanco, Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), recently provided remarks about FinCEN’s “Travel Rule” at the first truly-virtual Consensus Blockchain Conference. ...more

Polsinelli

Take the Money and Run - Bitcoin Transfers (even within the same state) Provide Basis for Federal Jurisdiction in Money Laundering...

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Earlier this month, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the money laundering convictions of Thomas Costanzo, a bitcoin broker. According to Costanzo, the bitcoin transfers at issue, which originated from and were...more

Polsinelli

BitBlog Bi-Weekly Update - March 2020

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Strikeout for Bitcoin ETF -   Another ETF bites the dust. On February 26th the SEC rejected the application of NYSE Acre for the approval of an exchange traded fund sponsored by the New York firm of Wilshire Phoenix to...more

Hogan Lovells

U.S. man charged with operating darknet-based bitcoin 'mixer' that laundered $300 million

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The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) has indicted a man from Ohio for running Helix, a darknet-based cryptocurrency laundering service that is alleged to have laundered bitcoins worth $300 million....more

Hogan Lovells

Michigan man sentenced to prison and ordered to repay $210,000 in crypto scam

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A man from Michigan has been ordered to repay about $210,000 for his role in a cryptocurrency scam. The fraudster solicited investments from two people, promising them large returns, but he used the investment proceeds to buy...more

Orrick - On the Chain

Cryptocurrency and OFAC: Beware of the Sanctions Risks

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A recent federal criminal action shows the depth of the U.S. government’s concern about the use of cryptocurrency (or virtual currency) to violate economic sanctions laws and the lengths to which it will go to charge such...more

BakerHostetler

Blockchain Solutions Announced Across Industries, Crypto Threat Warnings Announced Across Agencies

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Blockchain Developments in Olive Oil, Shipping, Media and Real Estate - On Jan. 14, one of the largest producers of olive oil in the Mediterranean announced it would begin using blockchain to create a provenance record for...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

IRS CI Highlights International Efforts to Tackle Cryptocurrency Abuse, Money Laundering and Tax Evasion

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ABA Tax Fraud Panel to Discuss IRS CI and Crypto Criminals - The Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS CI) has made it clear that it is focusing on the abuse of digital currencies to further tax evasion,...more

Orrick - On the Chain

In Case You Needed A Reminder – AML/CFT Regulations Apply to Transactions in Cryptocurrencies

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Earlier this month, the leaders of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission released a joint statement reminding individuals...more

Dechert LLP

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, Treasury Department Affirm Regulatory Regime for Convertible Virtual Currencies

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The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued guidance on May 9, 2019, underscoring the application of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and its implementing regulations relating to money...more

Orrick - On the Chain

NYDFS to Virtual Currency Exchange: Don’t Let the Door Hit You on Your Way Out

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The New York Department of Financial Services virtual currency license is back in the spotlight after NYDFS announced that it had rejected the application of Bittrex Inc., a virtual currency exchange, to conduct virtual...more

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