The two Nigerians jetsetters who filled their Instagram accounts with pictures of their ostentatious wealth were extradited from Dubai to the United States. According to the FBI, they were able to convert millions of dollars into Bitcoin (BTC) via the Gemini exchange. Transaction summary for Bitcoin address 16AtGJbaxL2kmzx4mW5ocpT2ysTWxmacWn. Source: Crystal Blockchain The two are Olalekan Jacob Ponle, also known as “Mr. Woodbery,” and “Mark Kain,” and Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, who used the aliases “Ray Hushpuppi” and “Hush”. The FBI complaint focused on the former’s activities and how he used Bitcoin to transfer the stolen funds. Business email compromise — 1,500 …

Several courts in China have implemented blockchain technology as a way to secure properties with an electronic seal. The Executive Bureau of the People's Court in Haidian District, Beijing, has reportedly deployed a blockchain-based electronic seal to secure a property in Chaoyang district. E-sealing system applies blockchain to protect the property By applying blockchain-powered e-sealing, courts are able to securely monitor a property in real-time with help of video surveillance, local news agency the Global Times reported on July 5. Specifically, if the property is disturbed or being damaged, the blockchain system automatically turns on a surveillance mode and sends …

Every Friday, Law Decoded delivers analysis on the week’s critical stories in the realms of policy, regulation and law. Editor’s note The U.S. is preparing for its Independence Day tomorrow. New spikes in positive COVID-19 tests will put a damper on some but not all of the traditional fireworks, cookouts and Martina McBride. On the same day, new changes to the Russian Constitution, including those that may allow Putin to stay in power for another 16 years, take effect. In more light-hearted news, pubs will also reopen in the U.K. The COVID-19 lockdowns have added new immediacy to the eternal …

Shortly after lifting the country’s Telegram ban, Russian authorities began investigating potentially fraudulent offerings involving the company’s unlaunched token, Gram. The token was at one time meant to serve a new blockchain ecosystem known as the Telegram Open Network, or TON. Reports indicate that Russian prosecutors are set to investigate a British firm that allegedly sold fraudulent tokens related to Telegram’s terminated blockchain project. The news was reported on July 3 by the local news agency, Baza.io. According to the report, the action was brought to a local investigative committee by “several Russian entrepreneurs” that claimed to have purchased $11.7 …

A source close to Plaid — the company that serves as a “data plumber” to Coinbase, Robin Hood, Square’s Cash App and many others — denied all allegations of the class-action complaint that was recently filed. The entire complaint hinges on the allegation that Plaid sells user data to the “highest bidder.” A Plaid spokesperson called this allegation “baseless." A money-making operation? A source close to Plaid’s legal team, speaking to Cointelegraph on the condition of anonymity, reaffirmed that the company has never sold user data in any shape or form. They also opined that this is just a “money-making …

June 25, a new class action was filed in California against fintech startup Plaid, which was acquired by Visa for $5.3 billion earlier this year. The plaintiffs allege that Plaid violated privacy and data protections by accumulating and monetizing financial transactions of millions of users. $5,000 per infraction The complaint alleges that the company accumulated this data by “data plumbing” popular services like Venmo, Stripe, Square’s Cash App and Robinhood. It purports that Plaid knew: “Every dollar you deposit or withdraw, every dollar you charge or pay to your credit card, and every dollar you put away for retirement, within …

The United States’s Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, has filed a proposal for final court judgement in regard of the terminated Telegram Open Network project. In a proposed final judgment filed on June 25, the SEC has asked the New York Southern District Court to order million dollar penalties to multiple defendants related to the case. “Defendants are jointly and severally liable for disgorgement of $1,224,000,000,” the SEC wrote in the proposed judgement. As of press time, the judgement has been received by the court. Although the court has “reviewed and approved as to form” the proposed judgment, it …

The deposition of Gavin Andresen in the Kleiman v. Wright case unveils numerous new details about Craig Wright’s efforts to prove he is Satoshi Nakamoto. The deposition included questions about the proof session during which Wright allegedly signed a message with a private key from an early Bitcoin block. The deposition took place on February 26 and 27 2020. Though Kleiman’s attorney, Velvel Freedman, presented Andresen with dozens of questions, Andresen had little to share about his own diligence in authenticating Wright’s claims. We have grouped questions and responses by topic to make them more coherent. Didn’t talk about Satoshi …

The litigating parties in the Kleiman v. Wright case have presented a joint witness list, which includes Andreas Antonopoulos, Gavin Andresen, Wright’s ex-wife, and a confidential witness. The parties have requested 36 witnesses in total. The high profile crypto case that has enchanted the crypto community for years is scheduled to go to trial in late August. The witnesses are split into fact and expert witnesses. Notable witnesses Some of the notable fact witnesses include: Gavin Andresen, former chief scientist of Bitcoin (BTC) foundation, Kimon Andreou, who co-authored a book with late Dave Kleiman, Ira Kleiman, Dave Kleinman’s brother and …

The recently released deposition of Gavin Andresen in the case of Kleiman v. Wright sheds new light on the personalities of Craig Wright, Satoshi Nakamoto, and not least of all, Andresen himself. Craig Wright called himself a fraud In an email to Andresen, Wright apparently admitted to being a fraudster: "I am a fraud, but I am a fraud that is free to work on what I need to do." Perhaps this admission (now in public domain) will make further lawsuits more challenging for Wright. Andresen may have had an early hint about BSV In a 2016 email to Andresen, …

New Zealand police have recovered $90 million connected to the case against suspected Bitcoin money launderer Alexander Vinnik. According to Jared Savage at the New Zealand Herald, the police Asset Recovery Unit have frozen roughly 140 million NZD ($90 million) controlled by a company in connection to the investigation of Vinnik. Police Commissioner Andrew Coster told the publication that local authorities had been coordinating with the United States Internal Revenue Service to address the lost funds. The money recovered is “likely to reflect the profit gained from the victimisation of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of people globally as …

The United States Tax Court has affirmed the IRS’ decision to deny a Maryland couple an installment plan. They state instead that the couple should liquidate their $7 million cryptocurrency holdings to pay off the tax debt. The couple failed to pay their 2017 tax return. As a result, they owe the IRS $1.1 million in unpaid taxes and penalties. In July 2018, they asked the IRS to allow them to pay the debt over a six-year installment plan, or IP. Along with the IP request, they enclosed a special form to prove that they are eligible for the proposed …