Binance's Compliance Spending to Top $200M in 2024 as Part of "50 to 100 Year" Plan

Binance Hiring 1,000 as Crypto Compliance Spending Tops $200 Million

Binance Holdings Ltd. is hiring 1,000 people this year with many earmarked for compliance roles as the crypto exchange’s annual spending to meet regulatory requirements, including US oversight under a plea deal, tops $200 million.

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Binance plans to have a 700-strong compliance workforce by the end of 2024, up from about 500 currently, said 55-year-old Teng….

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Spending on compliance has climbed from $158 million two years ago and is set to increase further, he said. The monitors appointed by the US agencies, Forensic Risk Alliance and Sullivan & Cromwell, have already begun work.

Being a Whistleblower Is Hard Enough. SEC Policies Make It Harder

Right now, there are two ways to submit a tip to the SEC: either through a portal on the SEC’s website, or by direct communication such as mail or fax. In either case, the SEC confirms receipt and assigns a reference number. Increasingly, based on our experience and numerous discussions with fellow whistleblower attorneys, this is the last communication that many whistleblowers receive from the agency….

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But to realize its potential and show those who come forward the respect their bravery deserves, the agency must do a better job of communicating with the people who have made the program thrive: whistleblowers.

Silence from the SEC, combined with the years of delay that investigations often take, creates a practical dilemma for whistleblowers and their counsel. Without any status updates from the SEC, it’s impossible to make an informed decision as to whether to sit tight or move on.

NCLA Fights SEC’s Unconstitutional “Rubber-Stamp” Follow-on Enforcement Proceedings

“SEC has been playing this expedient administrative trick for decades: First, accuse someone of wrongdoing in court filings and related press releases. Then, when the case is over, appoint itself as judge and jury to decide whether the same person should be barred or suspended from the securities industry. SEC’s answer is always yes, as one would expect whenever a judge is allowed to decide his own cases. The Constitution strictly forbids this kind of charade—which bears no resemblance to due process of law.”

— Russ Ryan, Senior Litigation Counsel, NCLA

‘Get Him Home’: Binance CEO Urges Nigerian Government to Free Tigran Gambaryan

Binance CEO Richard Teng urged the Nigerian government to release Tigran Gambaryan, an American employee of the world’s largest crypto exchange who has been detained in Nigeria since February.

“Tigran has been unjustly held for close to half a year now,” Teng told CoinDesk during a Wednesday interview in New York. “He needs medical treatment before his conditions become permanent.”

Gambaryan, Binance’s head of financial crime compliance, was detained in Abuja six months ago, shortly after voluntarily traveling to Nigeria’s capital city at the government’s invitation….

Lawyer in Yacht Tragedy Built Star Career With Unassuming Style

Lynch had insisted from the outset that HP was unfairly scapegoating him for its own management failures, a view his lawyers came to share even as Autonomy’s finance chief was convicted at trial, and a U.K. court found Lynch liable for fraud in a related civil case brought by HP.

Lynch adopted a high-risk, high-reward defense strategy, and his legal team promised jurors from the outset that he would take the stand to tell his story. “We wanted to plant this idea in their heads, from the very beginning: keep an open mind, you’re going to hear from him,” Morvillo said earlier this month in an interview with the “For the Defense” podcast.

When Morvillo learned there was a verdict, his hands were shaking so much that he couldn’t hold a cup of water, he told the podcast.

Morvillo said the moment the jury foreperson read the not guilty verdict was unlike anything he had experienced in his career.“

Our side of the courtroom erupted,” he said. “Grown people sobbing, hugging…it was remarkable.”

Big Law’s Surprisingly Good Numbers Hint at Possible Great 2024

Revenue rose an average 11.4% for all operations compared with the same period last year, according to a survey by Citibank’s law firm group.

Hours worked, or demand, rose 2.9% and fueled the growth, unlike past increases driven almost exclusively by rate increases, the Citi unit reported. The country’s 50 largest firms performed best, growing demand 3.3%.

The figures represent the best first half since the surging legal market of 2021, when revenue grew 14.6% and demand for the top 50 firms grew 9.4%, Citi found.