DOJ "Split" Over Charging Binance for Possible Money Laundering

Exclusive-U.S. Justice Dept is split over charging Binance as crypto world falters – sources

Splits between U.S. Department of Justice prosecutors are delaying the conclusion of a long-running criminal investigation into the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, four people familiar with the matter have told Reuters.

The investigation began in 2018 and is focused on Binance’s compliance with U.S. anti-money laundering laws and sanctions, these people said. Some of the at least half dozen federal prosecutors involved in the case believe the evidence already gathered justifies moving aggressively against the exchange and filing criminal charges against individual executives including founder Changpeng Zhao, said two of the sources. Others have argued taking time to review more evidence, the sources said.

Alameda Research ex-CEO hires SEC’s former top crypto cop in FTX probe

Ex-Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison has hired a former SEC official who oversaw many of the regulator’s biggest crypto cases as her lawyer in the federal probe into cryptocurrency exchange FTX’s calamitous collapse.

Stephanie Avakian, former enforcement division chief at the Securities and Exchange Commission, is representing Ellison along with other lawyers at her firm, WilmerHale, according to people familiar with the matter.

A New Crypto Regulatory Framework? No Thanks

Clearly, the term “regulated” has been misappropriated and causes tremendous confusion — or is even used as a ruse to convince customers that their investment is a lot safer than it actually is. For example, Coinbase often touts that they are a “regulated” firm, but they are not, at least not in the true sense of the word.

Yes, Coinbase is a publicly traded company and files quarterly reports with the SEC about their operations, as well as an annual report which must contain audited financial statements. Coinbase can get into SEC trouble if any of the statements, representations are misleading (by act or omission) and all information must represent a fair and accurate depiction of Coinbase’s financial condition.

Being an SEC publicly registered company is a big deal and a legitimate differentiator. And being an SEC-registered public company does imply some degree of oversight, at least relating to public disclosures, insider trading of its stock, and other SEC requirements. But being an SEC-registered public company is a far cry from being an actual SEC-registered financial firm.

Speech by SEC Commissioner Hester M. Peirce: “It’s Not Just Scope 3: Remarks at the American Enterprise Institute”It is not the Southeastern Conference Commissioner’s job to get into the huddle to pick what play the team should run. Nor is it the Securities and Exchange Commission’s job to tell companies how to operate. SEC disclosure mandates are intended to be flexible enough to facilitate material disclosures by companies of all sizes and types. Sometimes, however, the SEC looks more like a coach that is deciding a team’s offensive and defensive strategy than a neutral observer. Some aspects of the climate proposal, rather than simply ferreting out information about what companies are doing with regard to climate, may end up interfering with corporate decision-making and may do so in an inflexible way that does not take into consideration differences across companies.

As bitcoin plummets, Miami vows to hold onto its crypto dreams

When Miami Mayor Francis Suarez unveiled an 11-foot, 300-pound black fiberglass reproduction of the Wall Street bull last spring, he hailed it as a symbol of the city’s arrival as the “capital of crypto.”

“Welcome to the future,” he said, calling for digital currencies like bitcoin to be “integrated into every aspect of society” before the end of the year.

But eight months later, the Republican mayor’s dream of turning Miami into a hub for the digital currency industry has hit a speed bump.

The value of bitcoin has plummeted, a blow to Miami residents who bought into Suarez’s call to invest in digital currencies. MiamiCoin — the city’s own cryptocurrency — is now essentially worthless. And crypto exchange FTX’s meltdown has had ripple effects here.

Ernst & Young’s Germany Branch Escapes Wirecard Fraud Lawsuit

A German accounting firm affiliated with, but distinct from, Ernst & Young Global Ltd. won’t remain in a US investors’ suit over the collapse of Wirecard AG, a finance company that allegedly invented fictional escrow accounts worth €1.9 billion.

Ernst & Young GmbH Wirtschaftspruefungsgesellschaft lacks enough of a link to the US to be sued in federal court in Pennsylvania over its auditing of Wirecard, Judge Anita B. Brody said Thursday.

Opinion | Cryptocurrency contagion has yet to infect the wider financial system

Considering that crypto was supposed to be a world-shaking innovation, a revolutionary paradigm that was going to gut-renovate the world’s archaic payments systems, it’s surprising how little the industry’s ongoing meltdown has mattered.

Of course, it matters a great deal to people who invested in cryptocurrencies that later shed most of their value, or the various crypto companies that are halting withdrawals and defaulting on debt. I feel very sorry for their losses. But so far their suffering hasn’t proved contagious.