US identifies Canada as major money laundering country, and notes concern over its low prosecution rate

Tweet Canada once again a Major Money Laundering country The 2019 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) published on Friday by the U.S. Department of State identifies Canada once again as a major money laundering country along with a host of risky countries for financial crime. A major money laundering country is one whose banks […]

Vancouver ICO firm co-founders allegedly defrauded investors

Tweet RCMP Investigation According to court filings in Canada, Kevin Hobbs and Lisa Chang, the two co-founders of an ICO called EtherParty FUEL and an associated company, Vanbex, based in Vancouver, are allegedly under investigation by the Federal and Serious Organized Crime Division of the RCMP for, inter alia, fraud and are also allegedly under […]

Alleged drug dealer in Vancouver tied to Silk Road, facing extradition to US

Tweet Vancouver’s James Ellingson A Vancouver man, James Ellingson, is the subject of an extradition request by the Southern District of New York (“SDNY“), based on charges that include money laundering and narcotics importation. Ellingson was arrested in Vancouver on October 29, 2018, under an Extradition Act provisional warrant. According to the SDNY, Ellingson sold drugs on […]

US lawmakers introduce bills to prevent Iran from developing an ICO

Tweet Two US lawmakers introduced bills to prevent Iran from being able to grow its planned government issued sovereign initial coin offering, or its own digital currency. Both bills add criminal liability to persons, financial institutions, correspondent banks and digital currency exchanges that facilitate transactions involving an Iranian digital currency. The Iranian government appears to […]

Digital currency exchange CEO who spent customers’ Bitcoin settling with SEC and awaiting criminal sentencing

Tweet Exchange CEO Indicted The CEO of a digital currency exchange who pleaded guilty after being indicted in New York for, inter alia, selling Bitcoin to US residents illegally and then stealing it from them by removing it from the exchange’s pooled wallet, is awaiting sentencing for the criminal proceeding against him, and is also negotiating […]

7 Russian foreign nationals indicted in US for alleged money laundering and hacking of Canadian / US agencies

Tweet The Department of Justice announced the indictment of 7 Russian foreign nationals in Pennsylvania for their roles in an alleged hacking of anti-doping sports agencies, including one in Canada called the Canadian Centre for Ethics and Sports. According to the indictment, the indicted persons hacked into computers for several years to allegedly influence sports […]

Did Canada just seize enough carfentanil from an alleged drug dealer that could have been used to kill hundreds of millions of people?

Tweet Last fall, the police in Ontario arrested a person named Maisum Ansari who lives in the suburbs of Toronto, who had in his home approximately 42 kilograms of carfentanil, or a substance containing carfentanil. 42 kilograms of carfentanil is a massive amount and likely the largest seizure by law enforcement in the history of seizures […]

US and China continue joint investigation into fentanyl trafficking

Tweet This week, US and Chinese law enforcement announced the continuation of a joint investigation into fentanyl production and trafficking with a view to tackle the problem through money laundering investigations to identify TCOs involved. As part of the announcement, China said that on September 1, 2018, it banned two fentanyl variants. In February 2017, […]

US indicts two Chinese foreign nationals for operating criminal enterprise, international money laundering and selling fentanyl

Tweet The US Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, announced the unsealing of a 43-count indictment against two foreign nationals from China for allegedly manufacturing, advertising, selling and shipping fentanyl, carfentanil and other deadly drugs to several countries including the US and Canada, which resulted in the deaths of American citizens. They are also charged with operating […]