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A former auditor for FTX will pay $1.95 million to settle two U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission cases, including for alleged negligence in auditing the #cryptocurrency exchange Sam Bankman-Fried led before being convicted of fraud. Prager Metis, based in New York, did not admit or deny wrongdoing in agreeing to Tuesday's settlements, which include $1.75 million of civil fines plus disgorged profit and interest. In court papers, the #SEC accused Prager Metis of falsely representing that its FTX audit reports in July 2021 and April 2022 complied with generally accepted auditing standards. The Prager Metis partner leading the audits "fundamentally did not understand #FTX, or the #crypto asset markets in which it operated," according to the SEC. Prager Metis did not understand FTX's relationship with Bankman-Fried's hedge fund Alameda Research, the SEC said. Prager Metis CPAs Alameda Research Security Exchange Commission FTX GRC – Risk Management – Datricks and SAP - https://lnkd.in/ghM3TRaK

🚨 Breaking News: NY Court Orders FTX to Pay $12.7B in Landmark Crypto Case! 💥 In a major legal victory, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has ruled that FTX must pay a staggering $12.7 billion in monetary relief. This amount includes $8.7 billion for victim restitution and $4 billion for disgorgement of ill-gotten gains. 💸 The court's decision marks one of the largest recoveries in CFTC history and imposes permanent bans on FTX, alongside a requirement for cooperation in ongoing investigations. This ruling highlights the serious consequences for crypto firms engaging in fraudulent activities and underscores the ongoing need for robust regulatory measures. 🌐 #CryptoNews #FTX #CFTC #LegalUpdate #CryptoRegulation

🚨 Crypto News: Gary Wang, the co-founder of FTX and former ally of Sam Bankman-Fried, dodges prison time amidst one of the biggest scandals in financial history. Instead, he walks away with three years of supervised release. Wang’s fortune flips after his detailed testimony becomes the linchpin in exposing the $11 billion FTX fraud and assisting with the swift extradition of ex-CEO Bankman-Fried from the Bahamas. His cooperation not only earned him leniency but also criticism, raising questions about accountability for crypto wrongdoers. While the shadow of FTX still looms large over the industry, its downfall continues to serve as a cautionary tale for the crypto space. What do you think—justice served or a precedent set for future fraudsters? #CryptoScandal #FTXCollapse #BlockchainNews

Gary Wang, co-founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has formally requested a non-custodial sentence as his November 20th court date nears. Known for his pivotal cooperation in the prosecution of former partner Sam Bankman-Fried, Wang disclosed insider details, including code changes that allowed Alameda Research unrestricted access to FTX customer funds. His defense team argues that Wang’s role was limited and followed orders from Bankman-Fried, contrasting it with other executives in more direct control of FTX’s actions. Represented by attorney Ilan Graff, Wang’s defense cites the comparatively lenient sentences received by other FTX executives, including Nishad Singh and Caroline Ellison. In a unique personal appeal, Graff also noted that Wang’s wife is due to give birth days after the sentencing, highlighting Wang’s continued commitment to support restitution efforts for victims. With billions in customer losses and ongoing federal investigations, the case raises critical questions about the balance between justice and cooperation in high-profile financial fraud cases. #FTX #GaryWang #CryptoNews #FinancialCrime #Justice #BreakingNews #Sentencing

I cautiously dabble in ETH and Bitcoin investing and have already dodged at least 10 potential scams. There is that and the many confusing crypto rules and definitions that will continue to change over time. Always be careful with crypto and do your research before diving in—you can certainly earn but also easily burn. #cryptowarnings

John Ray III, acting CEO of FTX, has strongly criticized Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) for his defense claims, asserting that the actual situation at FTX involves significant financial losses and customer asset depletion. In a letter to U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan on March 20, Ray highlighted that despite SBF's claims of solvency and non-loss at FTX, the reality shows a stark contrast, with vast sums of money missing and customer assets significantly depleted. This situation offers crucial insights into the importance of transparency and accountability in the financial sector, especially within emerging technologies like crypto. https://lnkd.in/gksUgnMg #FTXCollapse #FinancialTransparency #Crypto #Web3 #Newzchain

Prager Metis recently settled misconduct charges brought by the SEC, agreeing to pay $745,000 for their #FTX audit failure. I got to write about the settlement for CoinDesk and explain what it means for future auditors seeking to lead in an emerging industry. Did Prager Metis commit the fraud at FTX? No, that was SBF. But the SEC did charge it with "negligence-based fraud" for failing to meet the minimum audit standards in performing their audit of FTX. Audits are like a lock on a door. They keep honest people honest, but nothing is going to stop a thief (or fraud). Audits should be designed to detect frauds early and raise warning signs before investors get irreparably harmed. Prager Metis left the doors to FTX unlocked and SBF robbed investors as a result. Thanks to Francine McKenna for the introduction. Please give this a read and let me know what you think! #cpa #audit #fraud

It's such an incredible statement, but true or not, there's certainly a level of absolute recklessness when it comes to compliance that cryptocurrency in general has been notorious for; it's practically been the raison d'être. I've had a hobby interest in crypto before, because I found it a fascinating proof-of-concept (although I was surprised that Bitcoin survived, as I had expected there would be sone technical flaw found someday given it was the first example of its kind), but I was disgusted by how foolish so many people involved were in terms of acting like laws simply didn't apply to them and that there would never be any consequences. I thought it was a massively missed opportunity that this community of people pointing out the fraud and lawlessness present in conventional finance would then turn around and make conventional bankers look like saints by comparison. There's a reason "SFYL" (sorry for your loss) became a running joke in crypto, and it wasn't just that the technology made it easy to make mistakes resulting in irreversibly losing one's money, but also the endemic levels of fraud and outright theft. There were times when I was tempted to get involved in running an exchange, but I recognized that there was an extraordinarily high bar to compliance there; that as great as the technical security challenges were, the legal challenges were even more difficult. So I never went down the path of starting an exchange, because I recognized that the only thing that would keep a person out of prison doing it would be for the exchange never to get big enough to matter (or to spend a massive amount of money on lawyers which I didn't have) and why start something that is going to send you to prison if you're successful? There absolutely have been a few legitimate operations that deserve recognition for taking the straight and narrow path, but with so many exchanges it wasn't so much a surprise that they went under as that they lasted so long. So whether he was reckless, naive, or is simply lying, in a way it's not a surprising statement because only someone completely oblivious to any concept of US financial regulations would start an exchange without an overwhelming sense of "I'd better have a really good team of lawyers behind me on this, because it would be really easy to commit serious federal crimes here".

The global consensus is growing in favour of regulation for crypto-assets, driven by the growth of over 23,000 cryptocurrencies and daily trade volumes exceeding $275 billion on more than 400 platforms. This rapid expansion in the crypto industry, coupled with high-profile collapses, has heightened the need for regulations aimed at protecting investors, ensuring market integrity, and preventing money laundering. This paper, the latest from the World Federation of Exchanges examining crypto-assets, specifically addresses the critical issue of crypto-asset custody. This is a concern brought to the forefront by the FTX collapse and longstanding worries about insufficient custody controls in the crypto industry, which pose risks to both market integrity and investor protection. Association of Certified Financial Crime Specialists - ACFCS ACFCS MENA Chapter #regulatory

🚨 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀: 𝗙𝗧𝗫 𝗢𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗮𝘆 $𝟭𝟮.𝟳 𝗕𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀! 💰 👨⚖️ A US court has mandated the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX to compensate customers and fraud victims with a staggering $12.7 billion. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 Sam Bankman-Fried 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘫𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺’𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘱𝘴𝘦. 🗝️ 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) calls it the largest recovery in history. 💰 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗲: Bankman-Fried and his insiders orchestrated a massive fraud, leading to FTX’s downfall. 📌 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁: FTX, once valued at $32 billion, misused customer funds for risky investments and personal exploits. 🌐 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲: Bankman-Fried is serving a 25-year sentence and has been ordered to forfeit $11 billion in assets. 👨⚖️ 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹: The CFTC emphasizes the need for stricter regulations in the crypto space. 👉 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱? FTX collapsed in late 2022 amid a crypto price crash. Customers faced significant losses as the company used their funds for high-risk ventures and personal gains. The recent court order aims to return funds to those affected by this fraudulent scheme. 👉 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗜𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: This case highlights the importance of robust regulatory frameworks to protect investors and maintain market integrity. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗙𝗧𝗖’𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝘆𝗽𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆. #CryptoNews #FTX #CryptoRegulation #BreakingNews #CryptoCommunity #SamBankmanFried #CFTC #CryptoFraud #GMMGNews