Crimes
Europol reports $19.5M in crypto seized in enforcement action against Bitzlato
The operation conducted by authorities across Europe and the U.S. resulted in the arrest of 5 individuals linked to the exchange, including Bitzlato founder Anatoly Legkodymov. News Own this piece of history Collect this article as an NFT The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, or Europol, has reported authorities took control of crypto wallets containing more than $19 million in cryptocurrency as part of enforcement actions against crypto firm Bitzlato. In a Jan. 23 announcement, Europol reported that roughly 46% of assets — 1 billion euro, or $1.09 billion at the time of publication — moved through Bitzlato were linked to illicit activities. The government agency’s analysis suggested that Bitzlato received more than 2.1 billion euro in cryptocurrencies including Bitcoi...
SEC charges Mango Markets exploiter for allegedly stealing $116M in crypto
The SEC has accused Avraham Eisenberg of manipulating the Mango Markets platform by manipulating the MNGO token, which the company allegedly sold as a security. Breaking news Own this piece of history Collect this article as an NFT The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has followed the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and others in filing parallel charges against the crypto user allegedly behind a multimillion-dollar exploit of decentralized exchange Mango Markets. In a Jan. 20 notice, the SEC alleged Avraham Eisenberg manipulated Mango Markets’ MNGO governance token, allowing him to steal roughly $116 million worth of cryptocurrency from the platform. According to the complaint, Eisenberg allegedly executed a series of large MNGO purchases in order to artificially raise...
US authorities seize crypto website Bitzlato as part of international enforcement action
The United States Department of Justice is expected to announce a “major international cryptocurrency enforcement action.” According to a Jan. 18 announcement, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco will lead a press conference in which the Justice Department will announce a major enforcement action — now believed to be against the crypto firm Bitzlato. The U.S. Treasury Department is also expected to announce a similar enforcement action. Other speakers at the event will include Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite of the Department of Justice’s criminal division, U.S. Attorney Breon Peace of the Eastern District of New York, FBI Associate Deputy Director Brian Turner, and Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo. This story is developing and will be updated. [flexi-common-too...
FTX fallout: SBF trial could set precedent for the crypto industry
After the collapse of major cryptocurrency exchange FTX in November 2022, former CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried was arrested by Bahaman authorities on Dec. 12. Just a day later, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed charges against him for allegedly defrauding investors and violating securities laws. On Dec. 22, Bankman-Fried was granted bail on a $250 million bond paid by his parents against the equity in their house. The bail order added that he would require “strict pretrial supervision,” including mental health treatment and evaluation. The former CEO faces eight criminal counts in the United States, which could result in 115 years in prison if convicted. Bankman-Fried had been under house arrest at his parent’s home in Califor...
Albright Capital drops lawsuit against Terraform Labs and Do Kwon
Albright Capital has dropped its lawsuit against Terraform Labs and its founder Do Kwon, according to a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal filed in U.S. District Court on January 9. Before its dismissal, the lawsuit had alleged that the company had violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”) by operating the stablecoin, UST, as a “Ponzi scheme.” Three Arrows Capital (3AC) co-founder Su Zhu posted the dismissal to Twitter, saying: Curious how long it will take cryptonative media to report on this sudden voluntary dismissal of class action against Luna foundation and Luna investors pic.twitter.com/8SyMhB4u4g — Zhu Su (@zhusu) January 10, 2023 Zhu had previously claimed that the bankruptcy of 3AC was partially caused by UST’s collapse. The lawsuit was dismissed “w...
US authorities launch page to notify FTX’s alleged victims about SBF’s case
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has launched a page on its website appealing to Sam Bankman-Fried’s alleged victims of fraud at FTX to come forward and informing them about court proceedings. In a Jan. 6 filing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon requested the federal court allow her office to take “reasonable, accurate, and timely notice” to inform alleged fraud victims from crypto exchange FTX while under the leadership of Bankman-Fried. According to Sassoon, the government proposed an “alternative plan” for notifying victims in the FTX case through an online notice which went live on Jan. 6. According to the court filing, the number of victims in the FTX case — more than one million creditors — made it “impractical” to rely on more traditi...
US authorities are turning their attention to FTX’s Nishad Singh: Report
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission and prosecutors are reportedly investigating former FTX engineering director Nishad Singh for potentially having a role in defrauding investors and users. According to a Jan. 5 report from Bloomberg, U.S. officials are looking at individuals in former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s inner circle as part of their criminal probe of the exchange’s collapse. Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to all criminal charges against him, but former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang reached plea deals with prosecutors in December, admitting to fraud at the company. Sam Bankman-Fried has arrived in court for his arraignment. We’re told he will plead not guilty to all the cha...
Alex Mashinsky sued by NY AG for allegedly hiding Celsius’ ‘dire financial condition’
New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit against Alex Mashinsky, alleging the Celsius founder and CEO made numerous “false and misleading statements” which led to investors losing billions. In a Jan. 5 announcement, the New York Attorney General’s office announced the lawsuit, which allegedly involved defrauding investors — including more than 26,000 residents of the U.S. state — out of billions of dollars worth of crypto. According to James, Mashinsky’s actions leading up to Celsius declaring bankruptcy contributed to investor losses by misrepresenting the platform’s financial condition and failing to abide by certain regulatory requirements. “As the former CEO of Celsius, Alex Mashinsky promised to lead investors to financial freedom but led them down a path of f...
Former Alameda CEO confirms firm borrowed billions from FTX customer deposits as part of plea deal
Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, said as part of her plea deal that she was aware FTX funds had been made available for the venture capital firm’s investments. In a transcript of proceedings for her plea deal in the Southern District of New York released on Dec. 23, Ellison acknowledged the financial ties between FTX and Alameda at the center of prosecutors’ case against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. According to the former Alameda CEO, Alameda had access to a “borrowing facility” through FTX from 2019 to 2022. “I understood that FTX executives had implemented special settings on Alameda’s FTX.com account that permitted Alameda to maintain negative balances in various fiat currencies and crypto currencies,” said Ellison. “In practical terms, this arrangement permit...
Sam Bankman-Fried hires defense attorney as US authorities probe FTX: Report
Former FTX chief executive officer Sam Bankman-Fried has reportedly hired Mark Cohen, a former federal prosecutor, to act as his defense attorney. According to a Dec. 6 report from Reuters, Bankman-Fried’s spokesperson Mark Botnick said the former FTX CEO has retained Cohen amid a flurry of civil litigation from investors in the crypto exchange and investigations by lawmakers and regulators in the United States. Cohen, a co-founder of law firm Cohen & Gresser, was a former assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York who also on the defense team for the high-profile case involving Ghislaine Maxwell — sentenced to 20 years in prison for child sex trafficking and related charges. Lawmakers with the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have announced separate hea...
South Korean judge dismisses arrest warrants for Terra co-founder Do Kwon’s former associates
A judge with the Seoul Southern District Court has reportedly set aside arrest warrants for Terra co-founder Shin Hyun-seong along with those of 3 Terra investors and 4 developers. According to an Dec. 3 report from South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency, Judge Hong Jin-Pyo said there was little risk of Shin or the Terra associates destroying evidence related to the case against the crypto firm, and dismissed warrants that the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office issued on Nov. 29. The report added that Terra co-founder Do Kwon, also facing legal action in South Korea for his role in the firm’s collapse, was unlikely to return to the country. “The Seoul Southern District Court’s ruling on Dec. 3rd to reject South Korean prosecutors’ detention warrant requests for former Terraform Labs empl...
Interpol reportedly creates dedicated unit to fight crypto crimes
The International Criminal Police Organization is reportedly planning to strengthen its crackdown on cryptocurrency-related crimes by forming a dedicated division. Interpol, the world’s largest global police organization, has set up a special team in Singapore to help governments fight crimes involving virtual assets, the Indian news agency Business Standard reported on Oct. 17. Interpol made the announcement at a press conference ahead of its 90th general assembly in Delhi, which is to be attended by high-profile police officials from its 195 members from Oct. 18 until Oct. 21. According to Interpol secretary general Jürgen Stock, the absence of a legal framework for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) poses major challenges to law enforcement agencies. “Because very often...
