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FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was charged with directing USD 40 million in bribes to one or more Chinese officials to unfreeze assets relating to his cryptocurrency business in a newly rewritten indictment unsealed on Tuesday. The charge of conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act raises to 13 the number of charges Bankman-Fried faces after he was arrested in the Bahamas in December and brought to the United States soon afterward. FTX filed for bankruptcy on November 11, when it ran out of money after the cryptocurrency equivalent of a bank run. He has remained free on a USD 250 million personal recognisance bond that lets him stay with his parents in Palo Alto, California. He has pleaded not guilty to charges that he cheated investors out of billions of dollars before his business collapsed. The alleged bribes stemmed from the operation of Alameda Research, which is affiliated with FTX, Bankman-Fried's global cryptocurrency exchange.
Enforcement Directorate is investigating several cases related to cryptocurrency/ virtual digital currency frauds wherein a few crypto exchanges have also been found involved in money laundering, Parliament was informed on Monday. In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said the virtual digital assets have the potential for criminal misuse. "Directorate of Enforcement is investigating several cases related to crypto currency/ virtual digital currency frauds wherein a few crypto exchanges have also been found involved in money laundering," he said. Necessary action as per provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) has been taken by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), he added. "As on January 31, 2023, proceeds of crime amounting to Rs 936.89 crore have been attached/seized/freezed, five persons have been arrested and six Prosecution Complaints (PCs), including one supplementary PC have been filed before the Special Cour
South Dakota's House failed on Monday to override Gov. Kristi Noem's recent veto of a bill that would have created government regulations for the use of cryptocurrency in the state. The bill had passed smoothly throughout the legislature, and Noem's veto of last week was upheld on a 37-30 vote. Proponents had argued the bill would have centralized different cryptocurrency systems through one government oversight commission, boosting transparency. But opponents saw the proposed regulations as a tool for potential government surveillance and overreach, saying they wanted more time to see how such legislation fares in other states. Six other states have passed the Uniform Commercial Code's update, which requires tangible records of cryptocurrency exchanges so that they can be considered money. National commercial standards aim to regulate digital currency exchanges by adding transaction records, but Noem said such a step would take away from South Dakotans' market freedoms. It would b