Crime

Israel adds more teeth to crypto and money laundering regulations

In its campaign against cryptocurrency fraud, Israel is upping the ante. New legislation has gone into action to prevent illegal behavior and normalize the use of bitcoin and other FinTech products, according to the Authority for Combating Terrorism Financing and Money Laundering’s director.  The execution of these regulations, as stated by the leader, Shlomit Wegman, will help to establish order and clear norms. New restrictions and benefits The regulations are a direct result of the Financial Action Task Force’s 2018 requirements. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is made up

Israel Beefing Up Crypto and Money Laundering Regulations

Israel’s Authority for Combating Terror Financing and Money Laundering has announced a tightening of regulations applying to the crypto and Fintech sectors.Sponsored Sponsored Israel is upping the ante in its fight against cryptocurrency crime. The Authority for Combating Terror Financing and Money Laundering announced via the authority director that new regulations have come into effect to combat criminal activity and normalize the use of cryptocurrency and other FinTech products. According to authority director Shlomit Wegman, the application of these regulations will help to establish order and clear standards.  The regulations

‘Triad’ members kidnap and torture Hong Kong crypto trader who manages to escape

A 39-year-old Hong Kong man was kidnapped and held for ransom last week after meeting a Tether buyer in Kowloon Bay.  The man was taken inside an industrial facility, assaulted, and forced to hand over his phone and trading platform passwords.  He was held captive for about a week at Tai Po, northern Hong Kong. His kidnappers demanded HK$30M from his family.  His relatives contacted the cops on Nov. 9, 2021. The police then stormed the house where the victim was being held, but he managed to flee through a

U.S. Treasury Department & Israel Form Joint Venture to Combat Cyber Crime

The U.S. and Israel join forces to combat the growing threat of ransomware attacks that often leave fiscal destruction in their wake for the affected victims.Sponsored Sponsored The U.S. Treasury Department is joining forces with Israel to combat the threat of ransomware. The U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary met with two Israeli officials, the Minister of Finance and the National Cyber Directorate Director-General, to formalize the joint venture launch. The venture seeks to oversee “the development of risk mitigation tools for law enforcement to enhance the efficiency of analytical and enforcement

Zodia Custody Set to Offer Brokerage Services in Ireland

British banking and financial services company Standard Chartered has announced plans for its crypto brokerage arm to expand.Sponsored Sponsored Recent reports indicate that Zodia Custody will begin offering services in Ireland. Specifically to institutional investors. With this in mind, Standard Chartered becomes the latest institution to set up operations in the Republic of Ireland. Following the likes of Bank of New York Mellon, which set up its Digital Innovation Hub in Dublin. Fintech company Blockdaemon also broke ground of their own in Galway. Standard Chartered’s ventures and innovation branch SC

TrustSwap Review: Making Smart Contracts Mainstream

The cryptocurrency space can be a scary place if you are not careful. There are scammers left and right, and not just in Discord and Telegram. Many cryptocurrency projects have revealed themselves to be nothing short of a ponzi scheme. Some have even ended with a rug pull – the team dumping their share of the crypto on the market and running with the cash.TrustSwap is a cryptocurrency project that is hoping to change that by using smart contracts. They want to create a new standard for initial coin offerings

China: Loudi City Mayor Promotes Blockchain to Fight Crime

The mayor of Loudi, a city in China’s Hunan province, has characterized blockchain technology as a powerful “weapon” that can effectively tackle crime.At a meeting of Loudi’s Municipal Public Security Bureau on Aug. 10, Mayor Yang Yiwen responded to reports on the progress of a trial blockchain project that is currently being conducted by the bureau and a local technology firm. The project combines blockchain technology with multi-party computing and big data to improve trusted data exchange and information traceability across a collaborative network. This network unites telecommunication network operators, banks and

Ransomware Attacks Demanding Crypto Are Unfortunately Here to Stay

Year after year, the ransomware landscape changes dramatically. In 2019, a new resurgence of attacks occurred as businesses and government institutions became the main targets of ransomware, given their capacity to yield larger payouts. The most recent attack was against Garmin, a navigation systems company, on July 23. Due to the attack, many of its online services such as customer support, website functions and company communications were affected. Reportedly, the Russian cybergang Evil Corp launched the attack, demanding $10 million in cryptocurrency to restore access to Garmin’s services. Overall, according to a

Bitcoin is not Completely Banned in China: Beijing Arbitration Commission

China has no reservation against ‘Bitcoin activities as virtual commodities,’ the Beijing Arbitration Commission (BAC) said in a report today. The report also added that the country’s laws and regulations ‘do not prohibit’ private possession and legal circulation of BTC.Bitcoin Is Not A Currency, But A ‘Virtual Commodity’Today local non-profit arbitration organization, the Beijing Arbitration Commission, pointed out in a report that Bitcoin cannot be used as a currency. It is not a legal tender and is not issued by China’s apex monetary authority.Overall, BTC doesn’t share the same legal