Financial Crimes, Crypto Exchanges, Department of Justice (DOJ)

DOJ’s New Policy on Prosecutions to Focus on Bad Actors, Not Digital Asset Industry

BakerHostetler on 4/14/2025

On April 7, 2025, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced in a memorandum to all DOJ employees (the “Blanche Memorandum”) that the DOJ “will stop participating in regulation by prosecution” and “no longer pursue...more

Crypto Couple Plead Guilty to Money Laundering Conspiracy

Ballard Spahr LLP on 8/17/2023

In February 2022, we blogged on the seizure of a record $3.6 billion in stolen Bitcoin (“BTC”) and an accompanying criminal complaint, charging husband and wife Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein and Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan with...more

NFTs Used to Serve Complaint; Treasury Official, SEC Chairman Address Crypto Compliance; NYAG Sues Crypto Exchange; DOJ Takes Down...

BakerHostetler on 3/20/2023

NFT Integration Software Released; NFTs Used to Serve Complaint in Civil Action - According to a recent press release, a major U.S. software company has launched a suite of tools that will allow users to “enter the Web3 and...more

Bitzlato Founder Charged With Facilitating Money Laundering of More than $700 Million in Dark Web Funds

White & Case LLP on 2/7/2023

Anatoly Legkodymov, Russian founder of Hong Kong-registered cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato Limited ("Bitzlato"), was arrested on January 17 based on an Amended Complaint filed by the Department of Justice ("DOJ") charging...more

FinCEN prohibits engagement with virtual currency exchange connected to Russian finance

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP on 1/20/2023

On January 18, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued its first order pursuant to section 9714(a) of the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act to identify a Hong Kong-registered global virtual currency...more

Stunning Collapse of Global Cryptocurrency Exchange FTX Leads to Bankruptcy

BakerHostetler on 11/16/2022

In a sudden and stunning collapse, FTX, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency exchange, run by 30-year-old Sam Bankman-Fried along with more than 130 entities affiliated with FTX, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy...more

Sound the Alarm: DOJ’s New Criminal and Civil Tools to Combat Crypto-Cyber Threats Should Prompt Investment in Cyber Compliance

Vinson & Elkins LLP on 10/28/2021

As a strong signal that it intends to increase its focus on illicit crypto transactions, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced the creation of an enforcement team, the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (“NCET”),...more

Financial Crimes › Crypto Exchanges › Department of Justice (DOJ)