A new report from the U.S. Department of Justice alleges that crypto traders dealing with coins like Monero, Dash, and Zcash are engaging in “high-risk activities.” According to the report by the U.S. Attorney General's Cyber Digital Task Force called Cryptocurrency: An Enforcement Framework released on Oct. 8, anonymity enhanced cryptocurrencies (AECs) can undermine existing anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) regulations put in place by businesses engaged in virtual asset activities. The task force cited coins including Monero (XMR), Dash (DASH), and Zcash (ZEC). “The Department considers the use of AECs to be a high-risk …

William Barr, the attorney general for the U.S., published official guidelines for keeping crypto markets accountable. The lead U.S. attorney's Cyber-Digital Task Force put together the guidelines, officially calling them: Cryptocurrency: An Enforcement Framework, according to an Oct. 8 statement from the U.S. Department of Justice. The statement explained: "The Framework provides a comprehensive overview of the emerging threats and enforcement challenges associated with the increasing prevalence and use of cryptocurrency; details the important relationships that the Department of Justice has built with regulatory and enforcement partners both within the United States government and around the world; and outlines the …

Every Friday, Law Decoded delivers analysis on the week’s critical stories in the realms of policy, regulation and law. Editor's note In a tweet late last night, President Trump said that he and Melania had tested positive for COVID-19. If you weren’t already aware of that, you may want to catch up on a deluge of wishes for life and death, alongside speculation as to Trump’s announcement being a hoax, before sitting down to this week’s Law Decoded. Or possibly not. Every week leading up to the presidential election features more amplified headlines. Law Decoded is likely not the ideal …

In the aftermath of criminal charges against BitMEX, the crypto community is debating whether the decentralized finance sector is also set to face the wrath of regulators. On Oct 1, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced charges against three BitMEX executives for violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) due to the exchange’s allegedly weak anti-money laundering and know-your-customer (KYC) policies. DeFi protocols, including Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs) have made a virtue of having minimal AML and KYC procedurs. However many now wonder if DEXs are also obliged to comply with the BSA, even though most projects seek to decentralize ownership …

The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) announced that the principal of crypto asset escrow company Volantis Market Making has pled guilty to commodities fraud worth more than $3.25 million on October 1. Volantis executive, 49-year-old Jon Barry Thompson, made false representations to a company from which he solicited $3.25 million to make purportedly “no risk” Bitcoin (BTC) purchases through a third firm during June and July of 2018. Despite Thompson asserting he would not part with the money until after the third firm had delivered the BTC, Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney, Audrey Strauss, found that: “Thompson sent the money to …

In a blog post published Thursday afternoon, Bitmex lashed out at charges that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Department of Justice filed against the exchange and its management earlier today. Bitmex's statement claimed that "From our early days as a start-up, we have always sought to comply with applicable U.S. laws, as those laws were understood at the time and based on available guidance." What exactly "applicable U.S. laws" are will likely be central to the case. Bitmex has long maintained that it does not serve customers in the U.S., though others before the CFTC and DOJ have argued …

"The Justice Department today filed a civil forfeiture complaint detailing two hacks of virtual currency exchanges by North Korean actors," said an Aug. 27 statement from the U.S. Department of Justice, or DoJ. "These actors stole millions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency and ultimately laundered the funds through Chinese over-the-counter (OTC) cryptocurrency traders." The hackers allegedly utilized 280 different digital asset accounts. March 2020 saw details of a 2019 legal case surface, in which two Chinese nationals allegedly hijacked piles of crypto assets totaling $250 million. This ordeal appears to be connected with the present day news, the DoJ statement …

Fifteen people have pleaded guilty to involvement in an international syndicate that used fraudulent online auctions to dupe victims out of Bitcoin (BTC) according to the United States Department of Justice (DoJ). From at least December 2013, the syndicate used listings for non-existent goods on auction and sales websites to defraud victims, with the group laundering the funds through a Romanian crypto exchange Coinflux in recent years. According to the DoJ’s announcement, four of the guilty pleas were made by Romanian nationals in the past 24 days before U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew A. Stinnett, with two taking place in the …

The United States Department of Justice is seeking the owners of crypto funds that were held by CoinGather — a small crypto exchange that was seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigations, or FBI, in March 2018. The seizure came months after the exchange had abruptly ceased operating during November 2017, prompting rumors to circulate that the platform had conducted an exit scam. US Gov seeks victims of CoinGather scam The U.S. government is looking for individuals who may have a claim to the crypto holdings of the defunct CoinGather exchange. A warrant shows that the cryptocurrencies currently reside on …

The United States Attorney’s Office has seized a fraudulent COVID-19 domain name after its owner attempted to sell it in exchange for Bitcoin (BTC). The action follows Attorney General William Barr’s request that the department prioritize detecting and prosecuting illicit activities relating to the coronavirus pandemic. A warrant obtained by the U.S. The Department of Justice alleges that the owner of coronaprevention.org listed the domain for sale “on a hackers forum” the day after President Donald Trump declared a national emergency in response to COVID-19. The seller’s ad promoted the domain as an effective means to sell “high markup in …

The United States has extradited a Swedish national from Thailand for allegedly selling fraudulent securities to investors online, garnering over $11 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC). Per a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) published on Nov. 18, Roger Nils-Jonas Karlsson is on his way to the U.S. to stand trial on behalf of himself and his company, Eastern Metal Securities. The indictment According to the DoJ, Karlsson was arrested on June 17. On July 25, a U.S. federal grand jury indicted Karlsson on charges of alleged securities fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. Karlsson allegedly used …

A couple operating out of Merced, California have pleaded guilty to selling drugs on the dark web in exchange for cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). The United States Department of Justice announced the charges in a press release on Aug. 6. According to the announcement, Jabari Monson has pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute controlled substances, while Saudia Monson plead guilty to violating the Travel Act. Saudia allegedly used both mail and the internet to distribute controlled substances. According to the press release, the Monsons distributed cocaine, cocaine base, methamphetamine and marijuana through multiple vendor accounts on …