Binance Employees Find $1.7 Billion in Crypto Was Sent to Iranian Entities
Last year, a team of internal investigators at the cryptocurrency exchange Binance found that individuals in Iran had gained access to over 1,500 accounts on the platform.
$1.7 billion had been transferred from two Binance accounts to Iranian entities associated with terrorist organizations, potentially breaching international sanctions. Notably, one of these accounts was linked to a Binance vendor.
Following the discovery of these transactions, the investigators alerted senior executives, as indicated by company records and documents examined by The New York Times. Within weeks, Binance dismissed or suspended at least four employees under investigation, citing violations of “company protocol” regarding the management of client data.
South Korean Police Lose Seized Crypto By Posting Password Online
South Korea’s National Tax Service recently conducted enforcement actions against 124 high-profile tax evaders, seizing cryptocurrency assets in the process. However, a significant portion of those seized funds has now vanished. Initially, authorities confiscated crypto holdings valued at approximately 8.1 billion won, equivalent to about $5.6 million. Following the operation, officials released a statement touting their efforts to recover unpaid taxes, including images of confiscated Ledger hardware wallets and handwritten notes containing wallet seed phrases.
Unfortunately, these images became the pivotal mistake. The high-resolution photos inadvertently exposed the mnemonic recovery phrases, which are crucial for accessing the wallets. An unidentified individual took advantage and added a small amount of ether to one of the addresses to cover the Ethereum network gas fees for transactions. Subsequently, they executed three transfers, extracting around 4 million Pre-Retogeum (PRTG) tokens, valued at $4.8 million at the time.
A local report also presented the perspective of a Hansung University professor, who emphasized that the incident highlighted “the tax authorities’ fundamental misunderstanding of virtual assets,” ultimately resulting in billions in losses for the national treasury.
Wealthy spouses are hiding crypto assets in divorce cases, say lawyers
Lawyers are increasingly faced with challenges as divorcing spouses conceal their cryptocurrency assets during court-ordered divisions, complicating the settlement process.
In England and Wales, divorcing parties must complete a Form E, which mandates a “full, frank and clear disclosure of all your financial and other relevant circumstances.” Although the form does not specifically address crypto holdings, legal experts recommend categorizing them under “other assets.”
A partner at the law firm Withers noted that he has encountered cases where hidden crypto assets amounted to millions of pounds. He emphasized that if one spouse suspects the concealment of such assets, checking bank statements, public crypto ledgers, and conducting forensic analyses of physical devices can be the most effective strategies.
