FinCEN Files Remind Us That Bitcoin Is Still Not For Money Laundering
This article originally appeared in our Down The Rabbit Hole newsletter. If you want our news and analysis straight to your inbox, make sure you subscribe now! This week, a released cache of thousands of reports from major banks showed that these institutions ignored their own concerns and willingly moved trillions of dollars around the world on behalf of suspected terrorists, criminals and corrupt governments. Known as the “FinCEN Files” because the banks’ reports were filed with the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), this cache was brought to....
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Treasury’s Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) and Financial Crime Enforcement Network (FinCEN) have set charges against the Bittrex crypto exchange for violating anti-money laundering rules and the other U.S. sanction programs. Washington-based crypto exchange agreed to pay two fines of $29 million and $24 million to OFAC and FinCEN, respectively. Cryptocurrency growing issues like money laundering […]
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has sent out warning letters to bitcoin-related businesses notifying them that they must comply with federal money transmission laws, according to reports. FinCEN, a unit of the US Treasury Department, has sent out "industry outreach" letters regarding anti-money laundering practices. Around a dozen letters have been delivered to bitcoin businesses so far. Back in November, Jennifer Shasky Calvery, the head of FinCEN, suggested at a Senate hearing that virtual currency exchanges and administrators should do three things: register with....
Mt. Gox, the world's largest bitcoin exchange, has taken a step towards complying with US money-laundering regulations by registering as a money services business with the US Treasury Department. The Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, FinCEN, shows on their website that Mt. Gox's registration as a money services business was received on Thursday 27th June. Although this does not constitute approval by FinCEN of Mt. Gox's activities, it is a sign that the bitcoin exchange is willing to abide by US rules in order to continue operating. "In practice, registration with....
FinCEN announced on Monday that it is fining Ripple Labs, Inc., the creator of XRP, for selling XRP without first registering as a money services business and failing to implement and maintain adequate anti-money laundering provisions. These violations fall under the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970. In a press release from FinCEN, this move was called "the first civil enforcement action against a virtual currency exchanger." Ripple Labs willfully violated several requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) by acting as a money services business (MSB) and selling its virtual currency, known as XRP,....