Three news to start your week: April 1
Ex-China FA president jailed for life over $10m bribes
(ESPN)
China's state media reported that a former president of China's football association has been sentenced to life in prison for accepting over $10 million in bribes following a major anti-corruption investigation in the sport.
Chen Xuyuan received a sentence after investigations into over a dozen senior football officials since late 2022. According to the court ruling, Chen had brought "tremendous damage" to Chinese football.
The sport has long fought corruption, which fans have blamed for the national team's enduring underperformance. In 2012, two former leaders of a football association were sentenced to 10 and a half years in jail for accepting bribes.
In the 2010s, Chen became the head of Shanghai International Port Co, and in 2019, he became the chairman of the Chinese Football Association (CFA).
KuCoin faces criminal charges over money-laundering violations
(The Wall Street Journal)
US prosecutors charged KuCoin and two founders with violating US anti-money-laundering laws.
The indictment, revealed on Tuesday by prosecutors in Manhattan, accuses KuCoin of breaking the Bank Secrecy Act and running an unlicensed money-transmitting business, along with related conspiracy charges. Two of KuCoin's founders, Chun Gan and Ke Tang, have also been charged with conspiracy and could face up to 10 years in prison if found guilty.
The US Commodity and Futures Trading Commission filed simultaneous civil charges against KuCoin for unlawfully operating a digital asset derivatives exchange and multiple Commodity Exchange Act violations.
Singapore's Seatrium to pay $110 million over Brazil bribes
(Bloomberg)
Seatrium Ltd. is set to pay $110 million to Singapore authorities as part of a deferred prosecution agreement to resolve the ongoing Operation Car Wash bribery investigation in Brazil.
According to the proposed agreement, Seatrium will pay $57 million to Singapore and the remaining $53 million to Brazilian authorities. This amount will be deducted from the penalty.
The company was formed in 2023 after the merging of Sembcorp Marine and Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd. Keppel Offshore allegedly made illegal payments in Brazil. In 2017, they agreed to pay $422 million to settle a bribery investigation in the US.
