Friday's Final Word | week 13
Good morning! Join us today as we explore the most pressing financial crime news of the past week. Enjoy the update!
🏁 SBF heads to prison for 25 years
🎭 Italy’s fight against clandestine Chinese banking
🤝 Cyprus to tackle money laundering with US expertise
🛑 Portugal bans Worldcoin
🔮 The future of crypto in Europe
👀 California looks to Europe for AI inspiration
📺 KYC with optical character recognition
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is sentenced to 25 years in prison
Manhattan has decided, and the once celebrated face of crypto, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), is heading to prison for the next 25 years. The sentence is significantly less than the 40 to 50 years in prison which federal prosecutors wanted but notably more than the 5 to 6,5 years which his lawyers had suggested. The verdict, which the jurors reached rather quickly, presents the end of an era which at one point saw the FTX logo decorate the Miami Heat Arena gloriously. However, with the prison sentence, the steep and swift fall from grace is now complete, even though Bankman-Fried is set on appealing the case. Consequently, this might not be the last time we will hear from him.
Read full article here
Dragons in the shadows: Italy’s fight against Chinese underground banks
Guardia di Finanza, Italy’s law enforcement agency, has uncovered a Chinese underground banking network laundering over €100 million through fake invoices. The bust is part of a series of successful operations across Italy that targets Chinese underground banks masquerading as legitimate businesses. Often, tax evasion is the clear motive, however, the sheer volume of laundered money suggests a wider clientele, from organized crime to sanctions evading companies. Italy is not alone in facing this challenge as clandestine Chinese banking networks have been identified in several other countries. The recent bust is a victory, but for tackling the broader pattern, greater international cooperation will be needed.
Read full article here
US and Cyprus to collaborate against sanctions violations and money laundering
Cyprus came under international criticism last year due to its role as a haven for Russian oligarchs trying to hide their wealth in response to sanctions imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Cypriot government responded with a “zero-tolerance” policy, vowing to clamp down on sanctions violations and money laundering. Part of the country’s efforts is an evolving collaboration with the United States which will include the exchange of American expertise. The agreement between the FBI and the Cypriot police is set to be signed in the coming days.
Read full article here
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The world is becoming smaller for Worldcoin as Portugal bans the project
Worldcoin’s hurdles continue as Portugal follows Spain’s lead in banning the crypto biometric project temporarily. The ban, prompted by concerns over data privacy, will last for 3 months while Portugal’s National Data Protection Commission (CNDP) conducts a thorough investigation into how the project’s data is captured, stored, and managed. According to the CNPD, more than 300,000 Portuguese users have already provided their biometric data in exchange for payment in Worldcoin’s cryptocurrency, including many minors without parental blessing. Besides the Portuguese and Spanish data protection agencies, the company is also under the investigation of Bavarian authorities, where it is based.
Read full article here
Providing clarity: what the EU’s new AML bill actually means for crypto
Regulations can often seem scary, especially when their implications are misunderstood and therefore misrepresented. The EU’s new Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR) has received the same fate, with erroneous news reports circulating about a proposed ban on anonymous crypto wallets. This sent shockwaves through crypto’s European userbase which values the tech’s core promises of decentralisation and the removal of third parties. However, to clarify, the AMLR bill doesn’t exactly propose an end to these feats, at least not when crypto is stored on self-hosted addresses. Nonetheless, it is true that KYC requirements for other players in the industry, such as crypto asset service providers (CASPs) will become mandatory, and tools enhancing anonymity will be banned entirely. For a more in-depth understanding the updated rules and their objectives, I would recommend reading the full article – it’s a very informative piece.
Read full article here
California looks to Europe to rein in AI
The Brussels Effect might continue its reign as California looks to the Old Continent for inspiration for its upcoming AI bill. As the richest state in the United States by GDP and the home of Silicon Valley, where GenAI champion ChatGPT came to be, California’s aim to crack down on abusive uses of AI technology is noteworthy. This stance stands in stark contrast with the broader American approach which boasts leniency and voluntary promises from tech companies. While Palo Alto tech leaders are critical of state intervention, Sacramento legislators think otherwise, leaning towards the idea that the industry might need some guardrails which it has largely been spared in the internet age.
Read full article here
Improving KYC with Fourthline’s optical character recognition technology
Conducting Know Your Customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) checks manually can be both cumbersome and complicated, especially in today's fast-paced digital landscape where customers expect seamless experiences. With Fourthline’s optical character recognition (OCR) technology this is made a possibility as the involved proprietary machine-learning models can swiftly extract the relevant data from ID documents, facilitating a visually engaging and hassle-free digital customer onboarding journey. The result is staying compliant without the risk of losing a disenchanted client base.
Read full article here
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