Tag: USA

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Article: Las Vegas Sands probes potential money-laundering breaches at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands casino

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Las Vegas Sands probes potential money-laundering breaches at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands casino

Bloomberg,  29 March 2021

Las Vegas Sands Corp. set up a special committee to look into potential breaches of anti-money-laundering procedures at its Singapore casino, which has already been the target of probes by US officials and local police.

The committee of three independent board members is reviewing money transfers among high rollers and third parties at Marina Bay Sands, as well as any possible retaliation against whistle-blowers, according to people familiar with the matter.

US law firm Vinson & Elkins LLP has been hired to assist with the review, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because of the confidentiality involved. Las Vegas Sands declined to comment. Continue reading “Article: Las Vegas Sands probes potential money-laundering breaches at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands casino”

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Article: Archegos Fallout Begins: Nomura Crashes 15% After Reporting Record $2BN Loss From “Transactions With US Client”

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Archegos Fallout Begins: Nomura Crashes 15% After Reporting Record $2BN Loss From “Transactions With US Client”

TYLER DURDEN,  28 March 2021

(Bloomberg) — Back in May 2016, Japanese mega-bank Nomura, announced that it had suffered its biggest-ever loss in history (of a rather tame by Western standards $40 million) from a single client, and which it then quickly blamed on an “incompetent” bond trader. Fast forward to today, when Nomura just suffered a far, far greater loss from a single client, this one is anything but boring.

Early on Monday local time, Nomura Holdings said it may have incurred a “significant loss” arising from transactions with a U.S. client.

The estimated amount of the claim against the client is about $2 billion based on market prices as of March 26, the Japanese brokerage said in a statement. The estimate is “subject to change depending on unwinding of the transactions and fluctuations in market prices.” Continue reading “Article: Archegos Fallout Begins: Nomura Crashes 15% After Reporting Record $2BN Loss From “Transactions With US Client””

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Article: Crypto Shadow Banking Explained and Why 12% Yields Are Common

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Crypto Shadow Banking Explained and Why 12% Yields Are Common

Matthew Leising,  27 March 2021

(Bloomberg) — A swathe of shadow banks in the $1.6 trillion cryptocurrency market have figured out how to generate returns of 12% with minimal risk: Lend U.S. dollars to hedge funds so they can buy Bitcoin.

Some of the largest non-bank firms in cryptocurrency including BitGo, BlockFi, Galaxy Digital and Genesis are stepping up to meet investor demand for dollars amid a long-standing weariness by banks to lend to individuals or companies associated with Bitcoin and other digital assets. In this case, they’re lending to hedge funds that need cash to buy Bitcoin for a trade that is almost guaranteed to pay out at annualized returns that have recently hit 20% to 40%.

“The people with all the money — the banks, the brokerages — they’re not in this space yet,” said Jeff Dorman, chief investment officer for Arca Capital Management, which specializes in digital assets. “Everyone wants to borrow dollars, but there’s not enough dollars in the space,” Dorman said. “There is a huge cash shortage.” Continue reading “Article: Crypto Shadow Banking Explained and Why 12% Yields Are Common”

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Article: Ex-Mexico Governor Linked to Drug Cartels Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering in U.S.

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Ex-Mexico Governor Linked to Drug Cartels Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering in U.S

Mary Anne Webber,  26 March 2021

A former governor of Tamaulipas, Mexico on Thursday pleaded guilty in a Texas court for taking over $3.5 million in bribes for government contracts, which he then laundered in the United States.

Tomas Yarrington Ruvalcaba, 64, was the governor of Tamaulipas from 1999 to 2005. Yarrington walked into U.S. District Judge Hilda Tagle’s courtroom shortly before 1 p.m. Continue reading “Article: Ex-Mexico Governor Linked to Drug Cartels Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering in U.S.”

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Article: Fidelity Joins Race for US Bitcoin ETF

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Fidelity Joins Race for US Bitcoin ETF

THESTREET CRYPTO,  25 March 2021

Fidelity has made an application with the U.S. securities regulator to offer a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), according to public filings. The Block was the first to report on the application.

The asset management firm lodged paperwork for the Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust, which would track the price of Bitcoin using data from predominantly U.S.-based exchanges: Coinbase, Gemini, ItBit, Kraken and Bitstamp.

“An increasingly wide range of investors seeking access to Bitcoin has underscored the need for a more diversified set of products offering exposure to digital assets,” a Fidelity spokesperson told Bloomberg.

Fidelity is perhaps the highest profile name to apply for a Bitcoin ETF this year. Five other contenders are vying to become the first U.S. Bitcoin ETF, including VanEck, First Advisors/Skybridge and NYDIG. Continue reading “Article: Fidelity Joins Race for US Bitcoin ETF”

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Article: Amazon calls on India not to alter e-commerce investment rules – sources

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Amazon calls on India not to alter e-commerce investment rules – sources

Aditya Kalra,  25 March 2021

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Amazon asked the Indian government on Thursday not to change e-commerce foreign investment rules until investigations into its business practices had been concluded, two sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters.

The commerce ministry met e-commerce players after allegations by retailers, which are a crucial part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s support base, that Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart create complex structures to bypass federal foreign investment rules and damage small traders.

Both companies deny any wrongdoing and say they are helping small businesses in India. Continue reading “Article: Amazon calls on India not to alter e-commerce investment rules – sources”

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Article: Lessons from the Texas big freeze

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Lessons from the Texas big freeze

Carl Pope, 24 March 2021

The Texas power market caps wholesale prices at an astonishingly high $9,000 per/mwh. When the crisis hit, the computers managing the market price crashed. Regulators then arbitrarily set prices at the peak rate, and left them there for four days, knowing that generators could not provide more power because their facilities were frozen. During the freeze, household daily utility bills of $2,500 and more were incurred by homeowners who had signed up for variable plans, even when for most of the four days they had no power. The City of Denton incurred $300 million in power bills in a week, $2,000 for each of its 15,000 residents.

The power companies maximised their profit from those units that were up and running. By the third week in February, it appeared all the energy companies serving the Texas market had made as much money in 2021 as they had in the previous three years.

“We were able to get super premium prices, that’s going to pay off handsomely like hitting the jackpot,” said Chief Financial Officer Roland Burns of Comstock Resources, a leading Texan energy producer. He later apologised when his remarks hit the headlines. Continue reading “Article: Lessons from the Texas big freeze”

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Article: In Cramer We Trust

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In Cramer We Trust

HARRISON R. T. WARD,  24 March 2021

Without trust, markets break down. The U.S. dollar is a fiat currency, which means that its value is derived from the trust we ascribe to our government; as that trust wanes, Americans turn away from traditional financial institutions. During the 2008 financial crisis, many everyday Americans, unsure of who to trust, took their money out of banks en masse. Large commercial banks began to fail; by 2012, almost 450 banks had collapsed. Today, deep into a historic pandemic and recession marked by political division, Americans’ trust is waning again.

On Jan. 27, a group of amateur traders helped push the stock of struggling video game retailer Gamestop to a price of $347 per share. Alarmed, financial experts took to the air to warn against what Alan Greenspan, former chair of the Federal Reserve, calls “irrational exuberance” — an unreasonable, optimistic view that the market will keep rising. Jim J. Cramer ’77, host of CNBC’s finance show “Mad Money,” was of those exasperated experts — “People begin to think, ‘Are prices real?’” he exclaimed on the air. Continue reading “Article: In Cramer We Trust”

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Article: Hong Kong activist charged with foreign collusion under national security law

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Hong Kong activist charged with foreign collusion under national security law

Jessie Pang and James Pomfret,  24 March 2021

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Andy Li was charged on Wednesday with “conspiracy to commit collusion” with a foreign country to endanger national security, two days after he was released from a Chinese prison.

At the city’s West Kowloon Court, the prosecutor told the judge that Li, who had been detained by Chinese authorities after trying to flee Hong Kong for Taiwan by boat with 11 others last August, would also be charged with two other offences including possession of ammunition without a licence.

The ammunition in question included used tear gas canisters.

Under the city’s China-imposed national security law, defendants could face up to life in prison if convicted. Continue reading “Article: Hong Kong activist charged with foreign collusion under national security law”

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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: 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: Form 8-K Global Tech Industries Group, Inc.

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Form 8-K Global Tech Industries Group, Inc.

SEC, 23 March 2021

WARRANT AGREEMENT, dated as of March 22, 2021 (this “Agreement”), between GLOBAL TECH INDUSTRIES GROUP, INC., a Nevada corporation (the “Company”), and LIBERTY STOCK TRANSFER, INC, as Warrant Agent (the “Warrant Agent”) (each a “Party” and collectively, the “Parties”).

The Company has declared a dividend (the “Dividend”) to the holders of record of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”), as of 5:00 P.M., New York City time, on April 1st, 2021 (such date and time, the “Dividend Record Date”), in the form of warrants to purchase shares of Common Stock. The Company desires to issue the warrants on the terms and conditions described herein (the “Warrants”) in satisfaction of the Dividend. Each holder of record of Common Stock as of the Dividend Record Date is entitled to 0.10 Warrants per share of Common Stock held of record by such holder as of the Dividend Record Date; provided, however, that no fractional Warrants will be issued. The Warrants will be issued on or about April 8, 2021 (the “Issue Date”).

The Company desires the Warrant Agent to act on behalf of the Company in connection with the issuance, registration, transfer, exchange, exercise and cancellation of the Warrants as provided herein, and the Warrant Agent is willing to so act.

Each Party agrees for the benefit of the other Party and for the equal and ratable benefit of the registered holders of the Warrants (the “Holders”):

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Article: Former Citgo exec pleads guilty in $7 million international bribery, money laundering scheme

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Former Citgo exec pleads guilty in $7 million international bribery, money laundering scheme

Alison Medley, 23 March 2021

A federal investigation has revealed an elaborate scheme involving millions in international bribes and Houston-based oil company, Citgo, according to a U.S. Justice Department report.

At the heart of a federal investigation was Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. PDVSA, which owns the Houston-based subsidiary Citgo. Continue reading “Article: Former Citgo exec pleads guilty in $7 million international bribery, money laundering scheme”

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Article: Alliance Man Sentenced for Federal Financial Crime Convictions

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Alliance Man Sentenced for Federal Financial Crime Convictions

News Release, 23 March 2021

Acting United States Attorney Jan Sharp announced that Randall W. Hillman, 70, of Alliance, was sentenced Tuesday in Lincoln, Nebraska, by Senior United States District Judge Richard G. Kopf for possession of device making equipment and using or trafficking in an unauthorized access device. Hillman was sentenced to 3 years’ probation, $5,500 in fines, $36,566 in restitution, and a $200 special assessment. There is no parole in the federal system. Continue reading “Article: Alliance Man Sentenced for Federal Financial Crime Convictions”

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Article: Former Glencore trader charged in global oil price manipulation scam

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Former Glencore trader charged in global oil price manipulation scam

THOMAS BIESHEUVEL AND JAVIER BLAS, 23 March 2021

(Bloomberg) –A former Glencore Plc trader was charged by U.S. authorities with conspiracy to manipulate a key oil price benchmark, the latest sign that prosecutors around the world are stepping up their scrutiny of the notoriously opaque commodity trading industry.

U.S. prosecutors alleged that Emilio Heredia, a former Glencore employee, directed buy and sell orders that would push fuel oil prices up and down. That allowed the companies he worked for to profit from the price swings, between 2012 and 2016, according to a filing at a U.S. District Court in San Francisco on March 15.

The investigation is the latest legal setback for Glencore, already embroiled in a wide-ranging probe by the U.S. Department of Justice on allegations of bribery and money laundering. The UK, Swiss and Brazilian authorities are also investigating the commodity trader. Continue reading “Article: Former Glencore trader charged in global oil price manipulation scam”

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