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Author: Ben

FinTelegram

September 20, 2024

Does Sam Bankman-Fried’s Appeal Stand a Chance?

Sam Bankman-Fried’s legal team has filed an appeal to overturn his 25-year sentence, arguing that his trial was tainted by bias. The appeal claims that crucial evidence, including the solvency of FTX, was withheld from the jury. However, legal experts are skeptical about the chances of success, given the high bar for overturning such convictions. Lesson to be learned: bankruptcies are dangerous for all concerned.

SEC
US DOJ

September 18, 2024

U.S. DOJ and SEC Charge Former CEO and CFO With Fraud and Misleading Auditors!

SEC and DOJ cracked down on fraudulent financial reporting at the tech company Kubient. The company's top executives were misleading investors about revenue, which was central to raising millions. Former CEO Paul Roberts faces up to 20 years for orchestrating this scheme. Kubient is a digital advertising technology whose shares were publicly traded on the Nasdaq between August 2020 and November 2023 under the ticker “KBNT.”

September 17, 2024

CyberFinance: MicroStrategy Doubles Down on Bitcoin with $700M Note Issuance!

Michael Saylor's Nasdaq-listed bitcoin development firm MicroStrategy announced that it intends to offer $700 million aggregate principal amount of convertible senior notes due 2028. MicroStrategy's relentless bitcoin accumulation continues, using $700M in new debt to fuel its crypto reserves. But with market volatility and regulatory concerns looming, will this high-stakes strategy pay off in the end?

September 16, 2024

CyberFinance: MicroStrategy’s Bold $14.6 Billion Bitcoin Bet: Visionary or Risky Gamble?

MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin-focused strategy may be a daring leap into the future of finance, but it’s also fraught with risks. With $14.6 billion in Bitcoin holdings, the company is now almost entirely dependent on the world’s largest cryptocurrency. Chairman Michael Saylor’s vision of Bitcoin as digital gold could reshape corporate investing, but will it pay off? Only time—and Bitcoin’s volatile market—will tell.

September 12, 2024

Crypto Crime Case FTX: Caroline Ellison Seeks No Jail Time for Role in FTX Fraud

Caroline Ellison, a former top executive in the collapsed crypto exchange FTX and former girlfriend of FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, is seeking no prison time at her sentencing later this month. The lawyers cited her immediate and extensive cooperation with U.S. authorities when FTX collapsed in November 2022 and noted that the court's Probation Department recommended that she serve no prison time.

September 12, 2024

Ralph Hamers and ING’s Money Laundering Scandal: A Pending Indictment and Comparisons to Swedbank’s Case

Former ING CEO Ralph Hamers continues to face legal scrutiny for his role in ING's involvement in large-scale money laundering activities. Although the bank settled with Dutch authorities in 2018, paying a €775 million fine, Hamers has yet to be personally charged. Despite a Dutch court's order, prosecutors have yet to formally indict him, raising questions about the pace and priority of anti-money laundering (AML) enforcement in the Netherlands compared to other EU jurisdictions.

September 8, 2024

Secretive Cyprus Funds Used to Obscure Megayachts and Real Estate Linked to Sanctioned Russian Banker

A recent OCCRP investigation revealed that Cyprus-registered RAIFs were used to hide megayachts and real estate linked to sanctioned Russian banker Andrei Kostin. These secretive funds, managed by Inveqo, allowed clients to avoid disclosing their ownership, raising concerns about the effectiveness of sanctions and regulatory enforcement. The case highlights the challenges of ensuring transparency and preventing financial crime in the global investment landscape.

September 7, 2024

Prosecuted Telegram CEO Durov Challenges Personal Liability for Platform Misuse!

The prosecuted Telegram CEO Pavel Durov argues that holding CEOs personally liable for platform misuse is an outdated practice that threatens innovation. Following his Paris arrest, Durov emphasized that platforms like Telegram must adapt to rapid growth, but outdated liability standards should not stifle progress. His case highlights the ongoing debate about balancing innovation, privacy, and regulation in the tech world.

September 6, 2024

Germany: Accomplices in Fraudulent Cyber Trading Platforms Charged by Karlsruhe Prosecutor!

The Baden-Württemberg Cybercrime Center in Germany has announced that it charged three suspects linked to an international fraud scheme that cost over 820 victims more than €5 million. The case marks a significant step in combating organized cyber trading fraud but underscores the growing complexity of such operations that often rely on an international division of labor.

September 6, 2024

Breaking: Explosive Money Laundering Case of Turkish Influencers!

The high-profile case of Turkish influencers Dilan Polat and Engin Polat has gripped the public attention in Turkey. The couple, known for their lavish lifestyle on social media, now faces serious charges of money laundering and operating an illegal betting ring. Appearing before the Anadolu 2nd Criminal Court alongside 28 other defendants, the Polats vehemently denied all accusations. If convicted, the couple could face up to 40 years in prison.

FinTelegram

September 4, 2024

Breaking: CFTC Fines Uniswap Labs for Illegal Digital Asset Trading!

The U.S. CFTC has issued an order against Uniswap Labs, a Delaware-based company operating in New York, for offering illegal digital asset derivatives trading. The CFTC found that Uniswap Labs provided leveraged or margined retail commodity transactions in digital assets via a decentralized digital asset trading protocol and has been ordered to pay a moderate $175,000 civil monetary penalty.

Cybercrime

September 3, 2024

UK Trio Sentenced for Running OTP Scam Service Intercepting One-Time Passcodes

Three UK nationals have pleaded guilty to operating otp[.]agency, a notorious online service that intercepted one-time passcodes (OTPs) to facilitate online account takeovers. Launched in November 2019, the service allowed scammers with stolen bank credentials to generate automated calls to victims, tricking them into sharing OTPs sent via SMS. These intercepted codes were then relayed to scammers, enabling unauthorized access to victims' accounts.

The Unraveling of Rabidi and the Rise of the SoftSwiss Network: Our Updated Forensic Report

A few months ago, FinTelegram released a first forensic report on the bankruptcy of Rabidi N.V., a Curacao-registered online casino operator with hundreds of millions in revenues — and no traceable assets by the time of its collapse in May 2024. That report already raised serious questions about the opaque structures behind Rabidi’s operations and its successor, Liernin Enterprises Ltd.

DeFi Decoded: Smart Contracts – The Code Behind the DeFi Revolution

Smart contracts are the invisible architects of decentralized finance. These self-executing lines of code run everything from token swaps to lending platforms without middlemen. But while they offer autonomy, they also introduce new risks—bugs, exploits, and irreversible mistakes. In this fourth installment of our FinTelegram DeFi Series, we explain what smart contracts are.

CFTC

Despite New Crypto Friendlyness: No Settlement Between U.S. CFTC And KuCoin?

A planned settlement between the U.S.CFTC and crypto exchange KuCoin is now in limbo due to a reported policy shift within the CFTC. This change is attributed to the Trump administration’s new approach, which deprioritizes enforcement actions against crypto companies. As a result, a CFTC attorney said that it is "unlikely that such authorization will be granted in the near term" regarding the settlement approval.

SEC’s New Era: Paul Atkins Sworn In—Will Crypto Finally Get the Regulatory Clarity It Deserves?

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has entered a new chapter with the swearing-in of Paul S. Atkins as its 34th Chairman, a move widely anticipated to mark a dramatic pivot in how the agency approaches crypto and DeFi regulation. For years, the financial industry—especially the burgeoning digital asset sector—has bristled under the SEC’s “Regulation by Enforcement” strategy.

Crypto Mogul Changpeng Zhao – Fallen, Rich, and Rising Again?

As spring 2025 blooms and Easter’s themes of rebirth fill the air, Changpeng Zhao emerges as one of the most controversial figures of startup mythology: a man who fell spectacularly, paid a price—then rose again, wealthier and louder than ever. Once the almighty architect of Binance, CZ now resides in Dubai with a net worth that Forbes estimates at $63 billion.