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Article: Fintech startup Feedzai valued at $1 billion in KKR-led funding round

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Fintech startup Feedzai valued at $1 billion in KKR-led funding round

Anna Irrera, 24 March 2021

LONDON (Reuters) – Financial technology group Feedzai said on Wednesday it had raised $200 million in a round led by investment company KKR valuing the startup at more than $1 billion.

Existing investors, including Sapphire Ventures and Citi Ventures, also participated in the round, the San Mateo, California-headquartered company said.

Feedzai develops artificial intelligence and machine learning technology that helps banks and other financial firms to spot and prevent payments fraud, money laundering and other types of illicit activities. Continue reading “Article: Fintech startup Feedzai valued at $1 billion in KKR-led funding round”

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Article: Farmmi Closes $7.4 Million Underwritten Public Offering of Ordinary Shares

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Farmmi Closes $7.4 Million Underwritten Public Offering of Ordinary Shares

PRNewswire, 24 March 2021

Farmmi, Inc. (“Farmmi” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: FAMI), an agriculture products supplier in China, today announced the closing of an underwritten public offering of 6,469,467 ordinary shares of the Company, at a price to the public of $1.15 per share. In addition, the Company has granted the underwriter an option to purchase an additional 15 percent of the ordinary shares offered in the public offering solely to cover over-allotments, if any, exercisable for 25 days, after the closing of this offering, which would bring total gross proceeds to approximately $8.6 million. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate and working capital needs.

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Article: Farmmi, Inc. (FAMI)

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Farmmi, Inc. (FAMI)

Seeking Alpha, 24 March 2021

On March 22, 2021, Farmmi, Inc., a Cayman Islands corporation (the “Company”), entered into an underwriting agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) with Aegis Capital Corp. (the “Underwriter”), pursuant to which the Company agreed to sell to the Underwriter, in a firm commitment public offering (the “Offering”), 6,469,467 ordinary shares (the “Shares”) of the Company, par value $0.001 per share for a public offering price of $1.15 per share. The Company expects to receive approximately $6.7 million in net proceeds from the Offering after deducting the underwriting discount and estimated offering expenses payable by the Company. The Company also granted the Underwriter an option for a period of 25 days to purchase an additional 970,419 ordinary shares solely to cover over-allotments.

In connection with the closing of the Offering on March 24, 2021, the Company issued a press release titled: “Farmmi Closes $7.4 Million Underwritten Public Offering of Ordinary Shares.” A copy of the press release is furnished herewith as Exhibit 99.3.

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Article: Six arrested in connection with Bitcoin ATM money laundering

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Six arrested in connection with Bitcoin ATM money laundering

Diebold Nixdorf, 24 March 2021

The FBI arrested six people in the town of Keene, New Hampshire, on money laundering charges. Agents removed a Bitcoin ATM from a local bar believed to be used in the crime, according to a report in the New Hampshire Union Leader.

Included in the six arrested was Aria DiMezzo, 34 of Keene, who ran for Cheshire County Sheriff in 2020, and Ian Freeman, believed to be the leader of the group calling itself Free Keene.

The group was brought up on charges related to an unlicensed cryptocurrency exchange that they allegedly ran through churches.

Additionally, DiMezzo was charged with participating in a conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business. Continue reading “Article: Six arrested in connection with Bitcoin ATM money laundering”

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Article: Swiss banker’s sentence slashed in alleged $1B Venezuelan money laundering scheme

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Swiss banker’s sentence slashed in alleged $1B Venezuelan money laundering scheme

Keith Larsen, 24 March 2021

A Swiss banker’s sentence was cut for his role in an alleged $1 billion international money laundering scheme that illegally funneled money into South Florida real estate.

Matthias Krull was a key figure in a sophisticated scheme in which Venezuelan officials and wealthy elite siphoned money out of the country’s state oil company, PDVSA, and into assets in Europe and the United States, according to federal prosecutors. Some of the money allegedly went to buy luxury properties in Wellington, Coral Gables’ Cocoplum neighborhood and in Sunny Isles Beach, including at the condominium Porsche Design Tower. Continue reading “Article: Swiss banker’s sentence slashed in alleged $1B Venezuelan money laundering scheme”

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Article: Commission will probe money laundering

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Commission will probe money laundering

Elouise Fowler, 24 March 2021

The Crown Resorts royal commission in Victoria will probe deeper into whether money laundering is still happening at Crown’s flagship casino at Southbank in Melbourne, says the inquiry head, former Federal Court judge Ray Finkelstein, QC.

Commissioner Finkelstein said he was concerned the gambling giant had not faced up to its role in facilitating the criminal activity through its gaming rooms, as revealed in a scathing NSW inquiry that found the $8 billion company unfit to hold a licence at its new $2.2 billion casino in Sydney.

In his opening remarks on the first day of public hearings, Mr Finkelstein said he wrote to the gambling giant to gauge its “attitude” and to ask whether Crown accepted the findings from the NSW probe. Continue reading “Article: Commission will probe money laundering”

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Article: 180 Life Sciences Corp. CEO James Woody, MD, PhD Issues Letter to Stockholders

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180 Life Sciences Corp. CEO James Woody, MD, PhD Issues Letter to Stockholders

GLOBE NEWSWIRE, 24 March 2021

180 Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ: ATNF, the “Company”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company with its lead indication in Phase 2b/3 clinical trial, focused on the development of novel drugs that fulfill unmet needs in inflammatory diseases, fibrosis and pain, today released the following letter to stockholders from its Chief Executive Officer, Dr. James Woody. Continue reading “Article: 180 Life Sciences Corp. CEO James Woody, MD, PhD Issues Letter to Stockholders”

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Article: Eight Charged with Conspiring to Distribute Fentanyl and Cocaine and Money Laundering Conspiracy

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Eight Charged with Conspiring to Distribute Fentanyl and Cocaine and Money Laundering Conspiracy

District of Massachusetts, 24 March 2021

BOSTON – Eight people were charged in federal court in Boston in connection with an investigation into a Boston-based fentanyl and cocaine trafficking and money laundering organization.

According to charging documents, a year-long wiretap investigation revealed that the defendants, who were directly connected to a poly-drug trafficking organization operating in Mexico, were actively distributing fentanyl and cocaine and laundering drug proceeds on behalf of a Mexican organization.

“All eyes have been on the COVID pandemic, but the opioid epidemic continues to kill thousands of people in Massachusetts each year,” said Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell. “Prosecuting drug traffickers who profit off of addiction and desperation is essential to save lives, protect the vulnerable and make communities safer. On behalf of all our federal partners, I would like to acknowledge the exceptional work of the Massachusetts State Police in this case. Their investigative skills and commitment to teamwork made this result possible.” Continue reading “Article: Eight Charged with Conspiring to Distribute Fentanyl and Cocaine and Money Laundering Conspiracy”

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Article: German Attorney Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering

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German Attorney Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering

Eastern District of New York, 24 March 2021

Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, Henning Schwarzkopf, a citizen of Germany and an attorney licensed to practice in Germany, pleaded guilty before United States Magistrate Judge Ramon E. Reyes, Jr., to money laundering by transferring funds that he believed to be the proceeds of a securities fraud scheme through the bank account of a Hong Kong shell company controlled by the defendant. Schwarzkopf was arrested on a criminal complaint in October 2020. When sentenced, Schwarzkopf faces up to 20 years in prison, as well as forfeiture and a fine of up to $250,000.

Mark J. Lesko, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the guilty plea. Continue reading “Article: German Attorney Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering”

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Article: FinCEN Signals Suspicion of Art Market Even Before AML Study Begins

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FinCEN Signals Suspicion of Art Market Even Before AML Study Begins

Nicholas O’Donnell, 24 March 2021

In connection with the late-2020 amendment to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) to include “dealers in antiquities” as a result of its inclusion in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued a notice of “Efforts Related to Trade in Antiquities and Art.”

The notice is a combination of guidance to entities now covered by the BSA, but it is also a potential backdoor around the entities that Congress chose not to regulate with respect to potential or perceived money laundering risks: art dealers. It also raises concerns about the objectivity of the forthcoming study of the art market that Congress instructed FinCEN to conduct. In either event, it is further evidence that momentum continues to gather for stricter oversight and regulation of the U.S. art market, and the importance of the art trade demonstrating more transparency and diligence if it hopes to modify or mitigate that regulation. Continue reading “Article: FinCEN Signals Suspicion of Art Market Even Before AML Study Begins”

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Article: SEC Confirms Probe of SoftBank

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SEC Confirms Probe of SoftBank

Michelle Celarier, 24 March 2021

SoftBank is the subject of an active investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to PlainSite, a legal transparency initiative.

The research provider on Wednesday shared the SEC’s response to a Freedom of Information Act request by Aaron Greenspan, the founder of PlainSite, a joint venture of Think Computer Corporation and Think Computer Foundation.

Greenspan said the SEC probe appears to be related to SoftBank’s trading unit, SB Northstar. He told Institutional Investor that news last year about SoftBank’s options trading triggered his initial FOIA request, which was dated December 2, 2020. Continue reading “Article: SEC Confirms Probe of SoftBank”

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Article: Former Glencore Oil Trader Charged With Manipulation of Fuel Prices

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Former Glencore Oil Trader Charged With Manipulation of Fuel Prices

Dave Michaels, 23 March 2021

WASHINGTON—A former oil trader at mining company Glencore PLC was charged with manipulating fuel oil prices, in a case that echoes claims investigated in Europe seven years ago.

The ex-trader, Emilio Heredia, was charged under a document that prosecutors typically use when a defendant is to plead guilty. He is to be arraigned Tuesday in San Francisco federal court on one count of conspiracy related to trading through a process managed by oil-price benchmark publisher S&P Global Platts. Mr. Heredia directed other traders to submit orders that would push up or down prices, to engineer a move that would improve the profitability of other transactions in physical fuel oil, according to the charging document filed in court last week. Continue reading “Article: Former Glencore Oil Trader Charged With Manipulation of Fuel Prices”