Article: Turkey blocks accounts of Vebitcoin exchange platform, launches probe

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Turkey blocks accounts of Vebitcoin exchange platform, launches probe

Ece Toksabay, 2 April 2021

Turkish authorities blocked all onshore bank accounts of cryptocurrency exchange platform Vebitcoin in the country, and launched an investigation into the platform, the state-run Anadolu news agency said late on Friday.

The action came after Vebitcoin announced that it stopped all of its activities citing financial strains. It became the second Turkish platform in a week to face troubles, after authorities detained dozens of people with suspected ties to Thodex platform.

Vebitcoin, a digital asset trading platform based in Turkey, announced on Friday that it had stopped all activities “in order to fulfill all regulations and claims”. Continue reading “Article: Turkey blocks accounts of Vebitcoin exchange platform, launches probe”

Article: Three New York men arrested, accused of pulling off $30 million international bank heist

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Three New York men arrested, accused of pulling off $30 million international bank heist

David K. Li, 23 April 2021

Three Brooklyn men were arrested and accused of stealing more than $30 million in cash and other valuables from safe deposit boxes in banks across Europe, federal authorities said.

A grand jury indictment charged Val Cooper, 56, Alex Levin, 52, and Garri Smith, 49, with money laundering conspiracy and violations of the Travel Act after a string of alleged thefts between March 2015 and October 2019 at banks in Ukraine, Russia, North Macedonia, Moldova, Latvia, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and France. Continue reading “Article: Three New York men arrested, accused of pulling off $30 million international bank heist”

Article: Five Charged in Offering Fraud, Stock Manipulation, Money Laundering

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Five Charged in Offering Fraud, Stock Manipulation, Money Laundering

Michael Katz, 23 April 2021

Five people have been charged in federal court for their alleged involvement in two securities fraud schemes. According to prosecutors, the schemes involved an offering fraud of a Texas-based oil and gas company and the attempted manipulation of a cannabis company’s publicly traded stock.

An indictment was filed in the Eastern District of New York against Richard Dale Sterritt Jr., Michael Greer, Robert Magness, Mark Ross, and Robyn Straza, charging them with conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering, among other offenses. Continue reading “Article: Five Charged in Offering Fraud, Stock Manipulation, Money Laundering”

Article: Swiss court convicts German financier Homm in long-running fraud case

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Swiss court convicts German financier Homm in long-running fraud case

Michael Shields, 23 April 2021

German financier Florian Homm was convicted by a Swiss court on Friday of breach of trust and multiple forgery of documents in a fraud case that had led to millions of dollars in losses for investors. The 61-year-old former hedge fund manager was convicted in absentia and sentenced to 36 months in jail, of which half was suspended, the court said.

Authorities had accused Homm of orchestrating a market manipulation scheme to artificially improve the performance of his funds, a fraud that led to at least $170 million in losses for investors. Continue reading “Article: Swiss court convicts German financier Homm in long-running fraud case”

Article: EVERY SINGLE OUNCE OF PHYSICAL SILVER HAS BEEN SOLD UP TO 1000 TIMES

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EVERY SINGLE OUNCE OF PHYSICAL SILVER HAS BEEN SOLD UP TO 1000 TIMES

Egon von Greyerz , 23 April 2021

The silver price is today half of the January 1980 level. That was the peak at $50 which silver reached again 31 years later in 2011. But alas, the bullion banks, aided by the BIS (Bank for International Settlement) and central banks have again managed to push it down again and today silver is only $26.10.

The current silver price has nothing to do with supply and demand. In a real market the Price of Silver would be substantially higher. In a fake market, the manipulators have no problem to suppress the price by selling virtually unlimited fake paper silver. Continue reading “Article: EVERY SINGLE OUNCE OF PHYSICAL SILVER HAS BEEN SOLD UP TO 1000 TIMES”

Article: India Penalizes Amex, Diners For Flouting Data-Storage Rules

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India Penalizes Amex, Diners For Flouting Data-Storage Rules

Jeanette Rodrigues, 23 April 2021

The Reserve Bank of India restricted American Express Banking Corp. and Diners Club International Ltd. from adding new local customers, citing non-compliance with data-storage rules.

The order will take effect May 1 and won’t impact existing customers, the RBI said in a statement Friday. Continue reading “Article: India Penalizes Amex, Diners For Flouting Data-Storage Rules”

Article: Angela Merkel defends lobbying for disgraced Wirecard

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Angela Merkel defends lobbying for disgraced Wirecard

Ben Knight, 23 April 2021

The German chancellor has appeared at a parliamentary inquiry to defend her decision to lobby on behalf of the disgraced banking firm Wirecard in China. The scandal is one of Germany’s biggest ever fraud cases.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has told the German Bundestag that there was no reason to believe that Wirecard was committing fraud in 2019, when she lobbied on behalf of the now insolvent Bavarian company during an official trip to China.

“Despite the press reports, there was no reason to assume there were serious irregularities at Wirecard at the time,” she told a parliamentary inquiry during a hearing on Friday. Continue reading “Article: Angela Merkel defends lobbying for disgraced Wirecard”

Article: The ex-convict’s tale: Germany’s role in Wirecard scandal under microscope

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The ex-convict’s tale: Germany’s role in Wirecard scandal under microscope

John O’donnell, Tom Sims, 23 April 2021

In February 2019, after a steep drop in Wirecard’s share price, German authorities launched criminal probes into short-sellers and journalists who had accused the company of fraud, and banned investors from betting against the company.

Documents seen by Reuters show for the first time that the only independent information – beyond Wirecard’s representations – received by Munich prosecutors who launched the criminal probes was a third-hand account of events from a convicted money launderer, Daniel James Harris.

The rationale that led to the decisions of prosecutors and regulators to launch the criminal probes and short-selling ban, and whether they were overzealous in supporting Wirecard, are central issues being investigated by a parliamentary inquiry into the company’s collapse in Germany’s biggest post-war fraud scandal. Continue reading “Article: The ex-convict’s tale: Germany’s role in Wirecard scandal under microscope”

Article: Banks Raise $34 Billion to Comply with SEC Rule, Effective Today

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Banks Raise $34 Billion to Comply with SEC Rule, Effective Today

Tim Fries, 22 April 2021

Having the collateral to cover stock trading is important to oil the market cogs. With margin trading, it is critical, a lesson learned the hard way from “Bill” Hwang last month. From today, the SEC will decide which brokerages failed to cover their securities trading, and what punishments it will dish out.

What is SEC Rule 15c3-3?
Even free market absolutists understand that rules of the playing field have to be followed to maintain the ecosystem. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the final arbiter in this arena. Although this regulatory agency too suffers from the “revolving door” syndrome, on paper, the SEC is in charge of ensuring market participants play fairly. Continue reading “Article: Banks Raise $34 Billion to Comply with SEC Rule, Effective Today”

Article: NGO: Chinese Banks Must Stop Laundering Wildlife Traffickers’ Money

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NGO: Chinese Banks Must Stop Laundering Wildlife Traffickers’ Money

DAVID KLEIN, 22 April 2021

Activists fighting against the illegal trade in endangered species of both plants and animals have called on Chinese banks to prevent illegal wildlife traffickers from exploiting their networks to launder money. Otherwise those banks will risk greater scrutiny and pressure from foreign governments.

TRAFFIC, a non-governmental organisation focusing on the global trade in wild animals and plants, released a report this month which found that the illegal wildlife trade generates between US$7 billion and $23 billion each year – as much as the illegal trafficking of narcotics, arms, and humans generate – and this cannot occur without financial crime and corruption. Continue reading “Article: NGO: Chinese Banks Must Stop Laundering Wildlife Traffickers’ Money”

Article: Samsung’s Lee denies charges in first court hearing on succession

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Samsung’s Lee denies charges in first court hearing on succession

Song Su-hyun, 22 April 2021

Samsung Electronics chief Lee Jae-yong on Thursday denied all charges leveled against him during his first trial hearing on alleged irregularities surrounding his ascension to the helm of Samsung Group.

Attending the session held at the Seoul Central District Court, Lee pleaded not guilty when he was asked by the presiding judge to respond to the charges brought against him by prosecutors which include stock market manipulation, illicit trading and breach of trust.

“I cannot admit (to the indictment). I deny (all the charges),” Lee replied, after a short pause. Continue reading “Article: Samsung’s Lee denies charges in first court hearing on succession”

Article: Hong Kong Arrests Six in $322 Million Money Laundering Case

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Hong Kong Arrests Six in $322 Million Money Laundering Case

Denise Wee and John Cheng, 22 April 2021

Hong Kong authorities arrested six people suspected of money laundering involving HK$2.5 billion ($322 million), in the latest case to hit the Asian financial hub.

Five men and one woman aged 23 to 50 were suspected of laundering money through 59 personal accounts at nine banks in Hong Kong, the Customs and Excise Department said in a briefing Thursday. They were involved in over 2,600 transactions from January 2018 to February 2020, it said, without naming the banks.

Hong Kong has been hit by a number of high-profile money laundering cases this year. The city’s police last month arrested 12 people for running alleged “ramp and dump” stock scams and money laundering after raids on luxury homes and brokerages across the city. Continue reading “Article: Hong Kong Arrests Six in $322 Million Money Laundering Case”

Article: Who’s manipulating the currency, US?

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Who’s manipulating the currency, US?

ET Edit, 22 April 2021

America’s decision to place India on its currency manipulator’s watchlist is ludicrous. The US Fed’s policy of keeping interest rates ultra-low, along with America’s allies in Europe and Japan, is responsible for both the dollar’s plunge and surging flows of capital to emerging markets, like India, in search of reasonable returns. These capital inflows make the rupee appreciate out of line with real economy concerns. Seen from India’s perspective, the US should be pointing fingers at itself when it comes to currency manipulation.

The US uses three benchmarks to judge currency manipulators: a bilateral surplus with the US of over $20 billion, a current account surplus of at least 3% of GDP and net purchases of foreign currency of 2% of GDP over a 12-month period. India met the first and the third benchmarks while its current account surplus has been below the threshold level. The country has a marginal current account surplus due to the Covid-induced economic contraction that dented imports. Else, India consistently has run a current account deficit (barring in 2004). Continue reading “Article: Who’s manipulating the currency, US?”

THE DOLLAR HAS NO INTRINSIC VALUE : DO YOUR ASSETS?