Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to all criminal charges he faces, including wire fraud, securities fraud and campaign finance violations. If he faces counts of charges and is convicted, he could face up to 115 years in prison. Meanwhile, controversial attorney Daniel Friedberg, who served as FTX’s chief compliance officer, has cooperated with prosecutors and accused SBF of using client funds to fund his illegal business plans. reportedly provided knowledge of what was going on.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has formed the FTX Task Force to “track and recover” missing customer funds and to handle investigations and prosecutions related to exchange failures. The team is made up of senior prosecutors from the Securities and Commodity Fraud, Public Corruption, Money Laundering, and International Criminal Enterprises divisions.
The Departure of Justice is reportedly seizing 56 million shares of Robinhood stock, worth approximately $468 million, associated with FTX and its former CEO. The report was released a day after a judge in a criminal case against SBF ordered him not to access or transfer cryptocurrencies or assets from FTX or Alameda Research.
FTX’s courtroom drama also has a new face — former FTX Engineering Director Nishad Singh. He, along with Caroline Ellison, Bankman Freed, and Gary Wang, were reportedly part of a “wire fraud” chat group that allegedly discussed illegal financial ties between FTX and Alameda. During that time, Singh lived in the Bahamas near other employees of the cryptocurrency company.
SEC Opposes Binance.US’ Voyager Digital Acquisition Plan
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a “limited objection” to cryptocurrency exchange Binance. His US-proposed $1 billion acquisition of bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital was cited for lack of “necessary information.” The regulator also hopes to provide details to Voyager on what will happen if the deal is not completed by April 18. Some commentators interpreted the objection as the SEC suggesting Binance. Such as receiving funds from a global entity on Binance.
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Coinbase Agrees $100 Million Settlement With NY Regulators
The New York State Department of Financial Services reached an agreement with Coinbase after investigating the cryptocurrency exchange’s compliance program. Coinbase will pay a $50 million fine for violating New York’s Financial Services and Banking Act and invest $50 million to fix its compliance program. According to financial regulators, cryptocurrency exchanges had a number of compliance “flaws” related to anti-money laundering requirements.
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Italy approves 26% capital gains tax on cryptocurrencies
The Italian Senate has approved the 2023 budget. The budget includes tax increases for cryptocurrency investors. This includes a 26% tax on capital gains on cryptocurrency transactions over €2,000 ($2,135). As reported by Cointelegraph, the bill also provides for taxpayers to declare the value of digital assets they hold as of January 1 and have the option to pay a 14% tax. These incentives are aimed at encouraging Italians to declare their digital assets.
Other changes introduced by the Budget Act include tax amnesties to reduce penalties for unpaid taxes, financial incentives for job creation, and a lower retirement age. Also included is his €21 billion ($22.4 billion) tax cut for businesses and households dealing with the energy crisis.
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