Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried were always close to their son. A certain amount of interest in the well-being of their son and that of his business dealings is to be expected. However, the FTX estate, now led by bankruptcy specialist CEO John J Ray III, argues that SBF’s parents – particularly his father –...Read More
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has expressed a lack of opposition to postponing the Terraform co-founder Do Kwon’s crypto fraud trial and, instead, is open to waiting until he is extradited. Two court filings were submitted by federal prosecutors, outlining the case against Kwon and Terraform Labs concerning the $40 billion collapse of...Read More
A father-son duo, residents of Maryland, have been sentenced for their involvement in a dark web drug trafficking and Bitcoin money laundering scheme. Joseph Farace, aged 72, was sentenced to 19 months in federal prison on January 8 for aiding his son, Ryan Farace, aged 38, in the laundering of Bitcoin proceeds from illicit drug...Read More
Crypto firms faced substantial regulatory action, collectively paying nearly $6 billion in fines primarily due to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) violations and deficiencies in customer checks last year. This marks a significant development, as crypto and fintech groups experienced higher fines for inadequate controls than the entire traditional financial system for the first time. Crypto-Related Fines...Read More
The legal counsel for Do Kwon, the former CEO of Terra, has requested a postponement of the Securities and Exchange (SEC) trial in the U.S. due to the uncertainty surrounding the timing of his extradition from Montenegro. At the beginning of the year, the SEC brought charges against Kwon, accusing him of leading a fraudulent...Read More
Celsius, the platform whose bankruptcy plan was finally approved late last year, has recently lashed out at former clients who cashed out before the company had the opportunity to freeze their funds. Bold Propositions The former crypto staking, lending, and exchange platform that has since shifted its focus to Bitcoin mining following the approval of...Read More
In January of 2023, YouTuber CoffeeZilla posted a three-part series on Logan Paul’s CryptoZoo project. To participate in the upcoming game of the same name, customers had to purchase egg NFTs, which would then hatch, allowing the purchaser to play with and breed the animal. Rumors of a Rugpull However, the social media accounts associated...Read More
Chinese official media has highlighted the growing concern over corrupt officials utilizing advanced methods to conceal and transfer illicit gains. This trend, marked by the use of cryptocurrencies and other digital mediums, was a central topic at the 2023 annual meeting of the China Integrity and Legal Research Association. China Faces New Wave of Crypto-Related...Read More
Earlier this year, the SEC’s crusade against cryptocurrencies seemed to be coming to a head after Judge Analisa Torres sided mostly in favor of Ripple, who ruled that XRP is, broadly speaking, not a security and that its purchase could only be considered an investment contract in certain circumstances. The two parties, however, are still...Read More
China’s Supreme Procuratorate has dealt a significant blow against illegal cryptocurrency operations by sentencing Zhao Dong, the founder of RenrenBit and a minor shareholder of Bitfinex, to a seven-year prison term. The prominent crypto figure faced charges for running illegal business operations and engaging in unauthorized foreign exchange trading. This move underscores China’s continued crackdown...Read More
Mikhail Klyukin, a Russian banker sanctioned by the White House in March 2022, sold more than £15m in shares of UK-based cryptocurrency firm Copper Technologies. The firm, chaired by former Chancellor Philip Hammond, appears to have played a significant role in the decision, raising questions about the transparency of cryptocurrency transactions and potential evasion of...Read More
A U.S. appeals court has issued a mandate that formalizes the forfeiture of 69,370 Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies linked to the now-defunct Silk Road dark web market. The ruling, confirming the judgment from August 18, 2023, marks the official conclusion of a legal saga that originated with the 2013 arrest of Silk Road founder Ross...Read More
A British Virgin Islands (BVI) court has issued a freezing order on approximately $1 billion in assets belonging to the founders of Three Arrows Capital (3AC), a once-renowned cryptocurrency hedge fund. The court’s decision aims to prevent co-founders Su Zhu and Kyle Davies, along with the latter’s wife Kelly Chen, from transferring or disposing of...Read More
Genesis, a bankrupt crypto lender, has successfully won a legal bid to prevent its parent company, Digital Currency Group (DCG), from selling or diminishing its ownership stake in the firm until the completion of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. This move by Genesis is aimed at securing vital tax benefits, which hinge on its continued status...Read More
Su Zhu, the co-founder of Three Arrows Capital, is expected to be released this month based on standard provisions for good behavior. The development follows a two-day court hearing in Singapore where Zhu faced questioning for the first time. During the hearing, Zhu had to respond to lawyers representing the liquidator, providing insights into how...Read More
In the ongoing legal dispute between Binance Holdings and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the former has filed a new submission to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Binance, along with its former CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ), asserts that the SEC’s reliance on its prior settlement with the U.S. Department...Read More
The legal defense head, David Mills, representing Sam Bankman-Fried in the FTX fraud trial, has openly expressed frustration and disappointment, labeling SBF as the most challenging witness he has encountered. Mills has acknowledged that the odds of winning the trial were stacked against the former CEO, implying that the legal challenges and complexities surrounding the...Read More
Once SBF stepped down, the new leadership of FTX scoured the bankrupt exchange’s databases, looking for misplaced and poorly labeled assets. Months later, John J Ray III and his team have managed to map out about $7 billion in assets, nearly half of which are in cryptocurrencies. The IRS Wants Its Share However, the new...Read More
The individuals accused of orchestrating the $8.5 million hack of Platypus Finance, an Automated Market Maker (AMM) protocol on Avalanche in February 2023, have been cleared of criminal charges by a French court, according to Le Monde. The defendants, identified as Mohammed and his brother Benamar M., were arrested approximately one week after attacking the...Read More
Gene Borrello, a former mobster turned federal informant, was separated from the general prison population and placed in a section with ex-gang members, informants, and high-profile detainees, one of which was SBF. After leaving prison, he sat down with Tiffany Fong for an hour-long interview, which is available on her YouTube channel. A shorter version...Read More
The bankrupt estate of FTX has made a bold move to challenge the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS), seeking court approval to reduce a $24 billion claim against it to zero. According to FTX, this move is crucial to prevent the IRS claims from derailing the progression of its bankruptcy proceedings. FTX Seeks to...Read More
The legal battle between Genesis and its parent company, DCG – which also owns multiple other crypto-related ventures, seems to be coming to an end. Yesterday, a deal was struck that would put to rest a lawsuit worth $630 million between the two companies. Some Sums Forfeited Earlier this year, the Winklevoss Twins’ – whose...Read More
The renowned Spanish football club Atletico Madrid is reportedly gearing up to take legal action against WhaleFin, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange. The dispute centers around a breach of contract involving unpaid sponsorship fees amounting to €40 million ($44 million). Atletico Madrid Seeks $21 Million in Damages in Lawsuit Atletico Madrid, the esteemed Spanish football club,...Read More
Sam Bankman-Fried, who was convicted by a jury after only a few hours of deliberation, is currently waiting for his indictment in a cell at the MDC. Adjusting to a New Paradigm The former FTX CEO faces up to 120 years in prison, depending on Judge Kaplan’s decision. Until his sentencing – due in March...Read More
Last year, French national Michel Aurelien, who was inspired by the BAYC collections’ success, founded the Mutant Ape variation. Although his own version was in no way endorsed or approved by YugaLabs, it nonetheless became somewhat popular in just a few months. Misleading From The Start Unfortunately for investors of the project – which has...Read More
New Jersey’s U.S. Attorney’s Office has filed a civil forfeiture action against Christopher Castelluzzo and two other members of an unnamed drug trafficking group based in New Jersey. According to the filing, the other two members of the group are Luke Atwell – a friend and business partner of Castelluzzo’s who is currently serving a...Read More
SafeMoon, a project whose goal was to “safely” moon a token – mostly by preventing holders from cashing out with large fees – plummeted once investors found out that the investment pools were not actually locked as promised within the same month that the project reached a market cap of $5.7 billion. Founders’ Trial Underway...Read More
Amir Bruno Elmaani, famously known in the cryptocurrency world as “Bruno Block” and the founder of the Oyster Protocol has been sentenced to four years in prison for tax offenses amounting to over $5.5 million. The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, announced the verdict, highlighting the severity of...Read More
In a surprising development, Senator Cynthia Lummis and Representative French Hill, popular pro-crypto lawmakers, have urged the U.S. Department of Justice to expedite the investigation against Binance and Tether for illicit financial activities. Binance, the largest crypto exchange, and Tether, the biggest stablecoin issuer, have been implicated in a scheme for facilitating terrorist financing. Accusations...Read More
Over two dozen former employees of the Ethereum infrastructure firm ConsenSys have filed a lawsuit against the company’s founder and CEO, Joseph Lubin. They allege that Lubin breached a “no-dilution promise” made in 2015, ultimately diluting their equity shares and leaving them with shares of significantly diminished value. ConsenSys Faces Lawsuit from Early Employees According...Read More
