A Los Angeles man has pleaded guilty to running a $25 million Bitcoin (BTC) money laundering scheme and selling methamphetamine. Possible life sentence News outlet U.S. News reported on Aug. 23 that Kunal Kalra has pleaded guilty to charges including money laundering and distributing methamphetamines. The 25-year-old is facing life in prison. The authorities say that, from 2015 to 2017, Kalra exchanged BTC and dollars, ran a Bitcoin ATM, and admitted to making deals with drug dealers and other criminals. Sold meth to an undercover agent Kalra also sold two pounds of meth to an undercover law enforcement agent. According …

The White House has issued two advisories to warn that fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are being purchased using major cryptocurrencies. The advisories were addressed to financial institutions as well as digital payments platforms, and are designed to help them detect and report suspicious transactions. Warning that the United States “is in the midst of an unparalleled epidemic of addiction and death,” the documents said: “An analysis of sensitive financial data indicates that domestic illicit drug manufacturers, dealers, and consumers use online payment platforms or CVC to purchase precursor chemicals or completely synthesized narcotics primarily sourced from China.” White House: …

The United States Department of the Treasury has added multiple cryptocurrency addresses to its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, also known as the Kingpin Act. These addresses, and the individuals associated with them, have been deemed to be associated with foreign narcotics operators. The Treasury updated its SDN list on Aug. 21. The three alleged narcotic operators associated with these addresses are Chinese citizens Xiaobing Yan, Fujing Zheng and Guanghua Zheng. The three individuals all have associated Bitcoin (BTC) addresses mentioned on the SDN list, and Guanghua Zheng additionally has a Litecoin (LTC) …

A couple operating out of Merced, California have pleaded guilty to selling drugs on the dark web in exchange for cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). The United States Department of Justice announced the charges in a press release on Aug. 6. According to the announcement, Jabari Monson has pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute controlled substances, while Saudia Monson plead guilty to violating the Travel Act. Saudia allegedly used both mail and the internet to distribute controlled substances. According to the press release, the Monsons distributed cocaine, cocaine base, methamphetamine and marijuana through multiple vendor accounts on …

A Florida man has pled guilty to participating in a multi-million dollar Bitcoin-enabled drug dealing conspiracy and money laundering. According to a July 25 press release from the United States Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York, the defendant, Richard Castro, pled guilty to money laundering and to conspiracy to distribute three controlled opioid substances over both the dark web and via encrypted emails. Castro — who operated under multiple monikers, such as “Chems_usa,”“Chemical_usa” and “Jagger109” — sold narcotics for Bitcoin (BTC) and has agreed to forfeit $4,156,198.18, including the funds in seven different BTC wallet addresses. The …

Spanish law enforcement pointed out that Bitcoin (BTC) automated teller machines (ATMs) show a gap in European Union’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations, Bloomberg reports on July 11. Per the report, Spanish police uncovered a local gang that used Bitcoin ATMs to transfer more than 9 million euros ($10 million) for drug traffickers in Colombia and other countries. Bloomberg cites anonymous representatives of Guardia Civil (a type of Spanish law enforcement) alleging that the group hired two machines from trading platforms and installed them in an office in Madrid. The office in question masqueraded as a center for remittances and cryptocurrency …

Recent research by Chainanalysis suggests that the amount of bitcoin (BTC) spent on illegal transactions this year could hit a record high of $1 billion, even as the ratio of illegal to legal transactions is shrinking, according to a report by Bloomberg on July 1. As per the report, the total flat value of BTC spent on illegal activity so far this year is thought to be $515 million. The research suggests that by the end of the year, this figure will double to reach $1 billion. However, the amount of BTC spent on illegal services as opposed to legal …

Walmart is no stranger to distributed ledger technology (DLT). Back in October 2016, the multinational food retailer began collaborating with IBM on a blockchain-based system that could identify and flag recalled foods. Since then, it has dived into a number of patents and trials — e.g., tracking meat in China, tracking delivery drones, patenting smart deliveries and tracking live food in the United States. And in addition to several other U.S. patents and global initiatives, Walmart has recently announced its latest foray into applying blockchain technology. This is its collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration, which — in conjunction …

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has partnered with four global high-profile firms to apply blockchain in the drug supply chain, tech media outlet ZDNet reports on June 13. The FDA has reportedly teamed up with companies including IBM, Walmart, Big Four auditor KPMG, and the world's oldest pharma firm Merck in order to build a proof-of-concept (PoC) blockchain network to share and track data on distribution of prescription drugs. According to the report, the initiative is connected with the United States Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) and intends to assist the FDA — as well as …

German police, along with Europol, have shut down servers of a dark web marketplace and seized six figures in crypto from the arrested suspects, Europol announced on May 3. The Wall Street Market, reportedly the world’s second-largest dark web market, has been shut down by the German Federal Criminal Police under the authority of the German Public Prosecutor’s office. According to the report, German authorities arrested three suspects and seized over 550,000 euros ($615,000) in cash along with bitcoin (BTC) and monero (XMR) in six figure amounts (actual value unspecified) as well as several cars, computers, hard drives and other …

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance announced on April 23 that two men plead guilty for illicitly selling steroids and controlled substances and laundering millions of dollars in cryptocurrencies and Western Union payments. Callaway Crain, 35, and Mark Sanchez, also 35, were allegedly behind the darknet website “NextDayGear,” and also manufactured some of the substances they sold. Among their products were reportedly injectable and oral steroids, as well as medication to counteract the adverse effects of their use, including Xanax, Valium and Viagra. Per the announcement, the defendants shipped over 10,000 packages across the United States, generating over $2.3 million …

A blockchain solution has unveiled bold plans to make the United Kingdom’s medicine market safer by creating a system that prevents patients from ordering the same prescription from multiple pharmacies while stopping counterfeit drugs from making their way into the supply chain. MediConnect states that introducing new safeguarding for the public and the health care industry can save money and potentially lives. The motivation for the startup came after the company’s founders discovered the extent and impact of oversupply via the National Health Service (NHS) and private health care providers. A lack of data sharing means patients can make multiple …