New York Financial News

New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a civil lawsuit on 5 January against Alex Mashinsky, alleging the co-founder of bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network defrauded investors out of billions of dollars of digital currency.

New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit against Alex Mashinsky, alleging the Celsius founder and CEO made numerous “false and misleading statements” which led to investors losing billions. 

The US crypto exchange Coinbase has agreed to shell out a total of $100m to settle a complaint relating to “certain historical shortcomings” in its regulatory compliance work.

Daniel Friedberg, controversial lawyer who served as top compliance chief at now-defunkt exchange FTX, has reportedly cooperated with United States’ prosecutors investigating FTX collapse.

The EU's smallest Member State, and Europe's most neutral nation, are set to play outsized roles in world events over the next two years, as Malta and Switzerland begin their term as non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. 

The United States Departure of Justice has reportedly seized or was in the process of seizing more than $400 million worth of Robinhood shares linked to FTX as part of the case against the crypto exchange.

Coinbase Global agreed to a $100m settlement with the New York Department of Financial Services over failures in the cryptocurrency broker’s compliance program.

Regulators in different jurisdictions should aim for a unified approach to their respective cryptocurrency rulebooks to prevent exploitation of regulatory loopholes between jurisdictions, the CFA Institute said.

The DFS investigation found that Coinbase's Know Your Customer/Customer Due Diligence, Transaction Monitoring System, suspicious activity reporting, and sanctions compliance systems were all inadequate for a financial services provider of its size and complexity. This, says the regulator, left the company's platform vulnerable to serious criminal conduct, including, fraud, possible money laundering, suspected child sexual abuse material-related activity, and potential narcotics trafficking.Early last year, the DFS took the "extraordinary step" of installing an independent monitor.

New York regulators announced on Jan. 4 that cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase will pay a $50 million fine and invest a further $50 million in its compliance program, following a settlement with the New York State Department of Financial Services. 

United States-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc has reached a $100 million settlement with New York's Department of Financial Services (DFS), the exchange and the regulator said in statements on Wednesday.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty in a New York court on Tuesday, where the judge scheduled the trial against the former crypto mogul to begin in the fall.

Banks issuing or holding crypto tokens stored on public, decentralized networks are "highly likely" to be inconsistent with safe and sound banking practices, the regulators added.In a statement, the agencies say: "Given the significant risks highlighted by recent failures of several large crypto-asset companies, the agencies continue to take a careful and cautious approach related to current or proposed crypto-asset-related activities and exposures at each banking organization."In December, the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) said that banks need to let it know about any virtual currency plans at least 90 days before commencing the activity. The rules apply even if any portion of those activities are to be conducted by a third party.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) has formed an FTX Task Force to “trace and recover” missing customer funds, as well as handle investigations and prosecutions related to the exchange’s collapse. 

Former FTX chief executive officer Sam Bankman-Fried has pled not guilty to all criminal charges he’s facing related to the collapse of the crypto exchange including wire fraud, securities fraud, and violations of campaign finance laws. 

According to an announcement on Jan.3, blockchain fintech firm GammaRey signed a merger agreement with financial e-commerce and consumer data analytics company GoLogiq. Both companies are based in the U.S., while GoLogiq focuses on customers in Southeast Asia. 

The legal team behind former FTX chief executive officer Sam Bankman-Fried has petitioned a court to redact certain information on individuals acting as sureties for his $250-million bond, citing threats made against his family.

The body of Benedict XVI, who died on Saturday at the age of 95, is on display from Monday morning at Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome, where people from around the world will be able to pay their last respects to him before his funeral on Thursday.

A new airstrike targeted Kyiv at dawn on Monday, after a New Year's Day marked by dozens of Russian strikes that left at least four people dead and 50 injured in the capital and elsewhere in the country. 

France is urging all European Union countries to start testing passengers arriving from China for COVID, amid an outbreak sweeping the Asian nation. 

2023 has been brought in with celebrations in cities around the world. Ticker tape showered down in New York's Times Square, while the Berlin night sky was illuminated by a spectacular firework display.