Enforcement Actions

A cross-border crypto laundering technique called Hwanchigi has accounted for $6.4 billion of the $7.1 billion in illegal cryptocurrency transactions recorded in South Korea since 2021, according to a Crystal Intelligence report covering activity through August 2025. The method exploits cryptocurren

According to National Police Agency figures, money laundering cases involving virtual assets hit 1,214 in the first half of 2026, a 152-fold surge from just eight cases in 2025. Despite the spike in detected cases, enforcement efforts have failed to keep pace. Police made only 18 arrests for

According to Foresight News, prediction market platform Kalshi filed a supplemental brief with the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals on August 7 in response to a Washington state court ruling. Kalshi argued that the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) takes precedence over Washington state gambling

According to Rob Hamilton on Tuesday (August 5), the Bitcoin Red Team founder said OpenAI restricted his access to Trust & Cyber capabilities after he began integrating them into his security research on Saturday, forcing him to switch to Chinese open-source AI models. Hamilton stated he had begun s

AUSTRAC suspended Cryptolink's Virtual Asset Service Provider registration for three months starting Sunday, halting operations of the company's 96 Bitcoin ATMs across Australia. AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas announced the action Monday, citing the company's failure to meet threshold transaction

According to AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas, Cryptolink's Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) registration was suspended for three months starting Sunday, following the company's failures to meet anti-money laundering reporting obligations, particularly threshold transaction reports. AUSTRAC stated th

According to The New York Times, World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the crypto project associated with the Trump family, received a $100 million WLFI governance token purchase from businessman Guren "Bobby" Zhou through Aqua 1. Zhou was arrested in the UK in 2021 on suspicion of money laundering and re

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced on Aug. 9 that it was imposing sanctions on digital asset exchanges Shelbit and Aban Tether, as well as their founder Siavash Kayvanpour, accusing the Iranian regime of secretly using these platforms to access the international financial system and support the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and terrorist organizations. OFAC Sanctioned Entities List: Kayvanpour and His Six Affiliated Companies According to

Bybit, a cryptocurrency exchange, has formally filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the North Korean government, North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB), and the Lazarus Group, alleging that they were responsible for the theft of approximately $1.5 billion in crypto assets in February 2025. The court has issued a preliminary injunction freezing the relevant wallets and platform funds. Bybit filed the lawsuit confidentially in June 2026, and th

The New York Times (NYT) reported on Aug. 8 that the funds for World Liberty Financial’s (WLFI) largest publicly disclosed governance-token purchase to date—a $100 million investment—came from Chinese businessman Guren Bobby Zhou, who is currently under investigation for money laundering by UK law enforcement agencies. Up to $75 million flowed directly to entities controlled by the Trump family. Guren Bobby Zhou’s Background: Timeline of His Arrest in the UK and $100 Million WLFI Purchase Accord

According to ChainCatcher, Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) recently added Polar Tensor to its watchlist of suspicious virtual asset trading platforms. The watchlist identifies 17 related websites. The SFC emphasized that Polar Tensor and its associated websites are not licensed t

Guren 'Bobby' Zhou, the businessman behind Aqua 1's $100 million purchase of World Liberty Financial governance tokens, was arrested in Britain in 2021 on suspicion of money laundering and remains connected to an active investigation, The New York Times reported Sunday. A British court record

According to The New York Times on Sunday, Guren "Bobby" Zhou, the businessman who orchestrated a $100 million purchase of World Liberty Financial (WLFI) governance tokens through Aqua 1, was arrested in Britain in 2021 on suspicion of money laundering and remains connected to an active

According to ChainCatcher, BitMart founder Sheldon addressed concerns regarding withdrawal issues following the platform's shutdown on August 9, denying rumors of a runaway exit. In a post on X, Sheldon stated the core team is conducting asset reconciliation and working toward an orderly shutdown, w

According to the New York Post, Jesús Manuel Gonzalez Hernandez sued the prediction market platform Polymarket for $170,000, claiming the platform wrongly resolved a market against him over a Trump statement wager. Hernandez purchased 170,000 'yes' shares for $300 during Polymarket's 'What will Trum

Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) announced on August 9 that it has added Polar Tensor to its list of suspected cryptocurrency trading platforms, identifying 17 associated websites. The SFC cautioned that Polar Tensor and its related sites are not licensed to conduct regulated

According to ChainCatcher, Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) will conduct on-site and off-site reviews of authorized crypto asset service providers starting in the second half of 2026 through the first half of 2027, with focus on institutions offering digital asset custody

Three St. Louis men face up to 20 years in federal prison after a grand jury in New Haven charged them Aug. 4 with conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery under the Hobbs Act. Sedric Louis, 32, John Davis, 34, and Martel Williams, 27, allegedly traveled to Connecticut between Aug. 21 and Au