tamir | FinTelegram News

Author: tamir

February 12, 2025

Goldman Sachs Scraps Diversity Mandate: The Highly Appreciated End of Corporate Wokeness?

Goldman Sachs has quietly reversed its diversity mandate, which required companies seeking to go public with the bank’s assistance to have at least one diverse board member. The decision signals a shift in corporate governance strategy and aligns with a broader pushback against ESG and diversity-focused policies under what is increasingly being called the "Second Trump Era."

February 12, 2025

Phobos Ransomware Affiliates Arrested in Global Crackdown!

The U.S. DOJ has unsealed charges against Russian cybercriminals Roman Berezhnoy and Egor Nikolaevich Glebov, key figures behind the Phobos ransomware group, which extorted over $16 million from more than 1,000 victims worldwide. Their arrests were part of a coordinated international operation, including the takedown of 100+ servers used by the ransomware network.

Moneyval

February 12, 2025

MONEYVAL Urges Guernsey to Step Up AML Enforcement!

MONEYVAL has called on Guernsey to strengthen its fight against money laundering, particularly in investigation, prosecution, and conviction efforts. While praising the island's risk awareness and sanctions enforcement, the report raises concerns about law enforcement’s limited use of financial intelligence and the quality of suspicious activity reports (SARs).

February 11, 2025

Payvision Scandal: Dutch Authorities Cover Up Fraud, Former COO Now Runs Regulated Stablecoin Provider

The Payvision scandal is one of the most shocking cases of corporate complicity in global cybercrime. A Dutch payment processor, Payvision, actively facilitated fraud networks, laundering and distributing stolen funds for years. Despite overwhelming evidence, Dutch authorities refuse to hold those responsible accountable and continue to withhold crucial investigative reports that could help victims recover their stolen money.

February 11, 2025

Wirecard’s Ghost: Jan Marsalek’s Close Associate Testifies in Singapore Trial!

The Wirecard scandal continues to unravel as James Henry O’Sullivan, a British businessman and close confidant of fugitive Wirecard executive Jan Marsalek, takes the stand in a Singapore fraud trial. O’Sullivan, accused of falsifying escrow account records that allegedly contained billions in Wirecard reserves, revealed damning insights into Marsalek’s clandestine operations.

February 11, 2025

Dirty Money: The Dubious Dealings of Helmut Hartinger and the Mysterious Deaths of His Partners!

Helmut Hartinger, a convicted fraudster at the center of a billion-euro laundering scheme, remains behind bars—but two of his closest associates are now dead. Vladimir Nuhlicek and Peter Takacs, both privy to Hartinger’s financial dealings, died under mysterious circumstances, raising alarming questions about who benefits from their silence.

February 10, 2025

Albanian Corruption: Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj Arrested in Corruption and Money Laundering Scandal!

Tirana’s Mayor, Erion Veliaj, a key figure in Albania’s ruling Socialist Party, has been arrested on charges of passive corruption and money laundering. Prosecutors allege he orchestrated a scheme to funnel public funds through NGOs and shell companies controlled by his wife, Ajola Xoxa, who is now under house arrest. Five businessmen and a sitting MP are also under investigation.

FinTelegram

February 8, 2025

Tornado Cash Co-Founder Alexey Pertsev Released: Crypto Privacy Battle Continues!

Alexey Pertsev, co-founder of the cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash, was released from prison on Feb 7, 2025, after being incarcerated since his conviction in May 202412. Pertsev, a 31-year-old Russian national, was sentenced to 64 months (5 years and 4 months) in prison by a Dutch court for money laundering charges related to his involvement with Tornado Cash.

February 7, 2025

Investor Education: MiCAR’s Asset-Referenced Tokens And How RWA-Backed Crypto May Fit the Definition!

Real-World Asset (RWA)-backed tokens can potentially qualify as asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) under MiCAR, depending on their specific characteristics. ARTs are defined in MiCAR as a type of crypto-asset that aims to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right, or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies. The key characteristics of ARTs under MiCAR are:

February 6, 2025

MONEYVAL Flags Bosnia & Herzegovina for AML Failures – Urgent Fixes Needed!

MONEYVAL’s latest report exposes Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH) weak anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) controls. Despite moderate effectiveness in some areas, major deficiencies remain—particularly in UN financial sanctions compliance, CTF risk mitigation in the non-profit sector, and enforcement against financial crime.

FinTelegram

February 3, 2025

Missing Billions Scandal: Zelensky Drops Bomb on U.S. Aid “Black Hole” – Where Did $102 Billion Vanish?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has ignited a firestorm by admitting that 58% of U.S. military aid allocated to Kyiv has mysteriously disappeared. In a series of explosive interviews and statements, Zelensky revealed Ukraine received just $75–76 billion of the $177 billion Congress approved for its defense against Russia, leaving a staggering $102 billion unaccounted for.

February 2, 2025

Elon Musk’s DOGE Sparks Treasury Turmoil: Senior Official Ousted Amid Payment System Power Grab

In an almost funny turn of events, David Lebryk, a veteran Treasury official with over 35 years of service, has been forced into retirement after resisting attempts by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to gain access to the federal government's vast payment network. This development raises alarming questions about the extent of Musk's influence in the Trump administration and the potential for abuse of power.

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.