CFTC Seeks to Vacate Gemini’s $5mn Enforcement Following Winklevoss Ask
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is moving to vacate a $5 million enforcement settlement reached with cryptocurrency exchange Gemini under the Biden administration, following a lobbying campaign by founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss.
DOJ Restores Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, for Now
The U.S. Department of Justice has reached a temporary staffing compromise that will return about 40 white-collar prosecutors, including those focused on insider trading, to the Criminal Division’s fraud section, reversing an April transfer to the Trump administration’s new fraud division.
The Pentagon Gave a $620-Million Loan to Startup Linked to Donald Trump Jr.
A senior White House adviser personally directed the Pentagon to extend a $620 million loan to Vulcan Elements, a North Carolina rare-earth magnet startup partly owned by a venture firm tied to Donald Trump Jr.
FCA Sees Industry Weaknesses in Sanctions Due Diligence, Trade Compliance
Financial firms have improved their sanctions controls but persistent weaknesses in due diligence, screening, and asset-freezing controls continue to drive compliance violations, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said in a multi-firm review published Thursday.
Trump Administration Reimposes Sanctions on U.N. Special Rapporteur Albanese
The Trump administration has re-added a United Nations human rights official to the U.S. sanctions blacklist just one week after quietly removing her, and less than two weeks after a federal judge ruled the original designation unconstitutional.
New Dutch Study Warns Organized Crime Is Infiltrating Society
The Netherlands faces a growing threat from organized crime that is silently corroding state institutions, public services, and democratic governance, according to a new threat assessment published Tuesday by the Strategic Knowledge Centre on Undermining Criminality (SKC).
Singapore Tells Private Banks to Speed Up Onboarding for Wealthy Clients
Singapore’s financial regulator has directed private banks to reduce account opening wait times to within one month by year-end, as the city-state moves to reassert itself as a global wealth management hub after a series of money-laundering scandals.
UK Sanctions Crypto Networks for Allegedly Helping Russia Skirt Sanctions
The United Kingdom announced a new package of sanctions Tuesday targeting cryptocurrency exchanges and a Kremlin-backed shadow finance network known as A7 as part of an effort to close off payment routes used by Russia to sustain its war against Ukraine.
U.S. Regulators to Consider Citizenship Status of Bank Customers a Risk Factor
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday directing federal financial regulators to treat undocumented immigrants as potential credit and compliance risks.
Sinaloa Networks Sanctioned for Fentanyl Trafficking, Crypto Laundering
OFAC designated more than a dozen individuals and entities linked to the Sinaloa Cartel, targeting two separate networks accused of fentanyl trafficking and money laundering, including one that allegedly converted bulk U.S. drug cash into cryptocurrency for transfer to cartel leadership in Mexico.