The U.S. Department of the Treasury has imposed sanctions on Cambodian tycoon Ly Yong Phat and his businesses, linking them to human trafficking and forced labor scams involving cryptocurrency fraud. Victims were manipulated into online scam centers, and trafficked workers were forced into labor for these schemes. The sanctions freeze U.S.-based assets and prohibit transactions,…
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Welcome to Latam Insights Encore, a deep dive into Latin America’s most relevant economic and cryptocurrency-based news from last week. In this edition, we discuss how bitcoin is being leveraged by both the opposition and the government in Venezuela, highlighting one of its most significant traits: uncensorability. Latam Insights Encore: Venezuelan Situation Shows Bitcoin’s Utility…
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Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of Latin America’s most relevant crypto and economic news during the last week. In this issue: President Nayib Bukele eliminated import taxes for basic products for a decade in El Salvador, Argentina defined rules for regularizing cryptocurrency assets, and OFAC sanctioned the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. President Bukele…
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Tren de Aragua (Aragua’s Train), a criminal gang with Venezuelan origins, has been sanctioned by OFAC as a transnational organization engaging in kidnapping, human trafficking, extortion, and other illegal behavior. The U.S. Department of the Treasury also stated that the organization had used cryptocurrency to launder the proceedings of their activities to some extent. OFAC…
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The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Monday sanctioned 13 entities and two individuals. They are accused of developing crypto-related services that could facilitate sanctions evasion on behalf of Russian nationals. OFAC’s designations aim to curb Russia’s use of the global financial system in its conflict with Ukraine. Brian Nelson, Under Secretary…
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Tether’s (USDT) dominant position as the largest stablecoin faces regulatory challenges and risks from various authorities and jurisdictions as they seek to impose more transparency and compliance on stablecoins. The stablecoin is vulnerable due to its dependence on the American market and pending regulations. Despite Tether’s headquarters not being based in the U.S., regulators can…
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The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has revoked the license of Minerven, the Venezuela-owned gold company, for commercializing gold in international markets. The sanctions on Minerven, which were eased in October, will be applied again on February 13, with oil and gas sanctions reported to return in April. OFAC Winds Down Venezuelan Gold Operations…
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Bloxroute, a company that provides relaying services, has declared that it will start rejecting block bids with transactions from wallets part of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Specially Designated Nationals And Blocked Persons List (SDN List). Based in the U.S., the company clarified it is still committed to supporting Ethereum’s decentralized nature. Bloxroute…
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Source: Pixabay Tether (USDT), the company behind the world’s largest stablecoin, has frozen the wallets of individuals sanctioned by the U.S. Office of Foreign Asset Controls (OFAC). In a recent announcement, the company said it aims to prevent potential misuse of its tokens and enhance security measures by aligning with global law enforcement and regulators. “This…
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The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on yet another cryptocurrency mixing platform, labeling Sinbad.io as a “key money-laundering tool” used by the North Korean Lazarus Group crime syndicate. Sinbad.io, in addition to handling transactions originating from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), has also been…
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