Crypto Chronicles: BitOK's Weekly Recap of Top Regulatory News

The suspects, four from China and one from Laos, face charges of transnational crime, fraud, and money laundering. The Office of the Attorney General moved to prosecute them in August 2022, and 585 million Thai baht worth of their personal property was confiscated. Investment scams remain a significant financial threat in Thailand, with victims often investing their life savings or taking out loans for these schemes. Scammers have also been targeting MetaMask users using fake government-owned website URLs to access their crypto wallets.

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This framework, known as the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), was introduced by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in October 2022. It aims to provide tax authorities with greater visibility into crypto transactions and the individuals behind them. Under this proposed framework, countries will automatically exchange information on crypto transactions annually, covering unregulated exchanges and wallet providers. Additionally, the G20 endorsed recommendations from the Financial Stability Board for the regulation and oversight of crypto-assets and stablecoin arrangements, setting similar standards as commercial banks.

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SEC argues that contradictory conclusions in similar cases and uncertainties about whether certain crypto assets are considered investment contracts under the Howey test justify an interlocutory appeal. This request contradicts previous statements from SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who had asserted that existing guidelines covered the crypto market adequately. Ripple and others have criticized the SEC’s appeal, calling it hypocritical and raising questions about regulatory clarity.

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Thodex, once a major crypto trading platform in Turkey, collapsed in 2021, with Özer fleeing the country along with $ 2 billion in users' crypto assets. He was detained in Albania in 2022 and extradited to Turkey in 2023. Özer claimed innocence, stating that Thodex went bankrupt without criminal intent. The court acquitted some defendants due to lack of evidence and sentenced others based on their involvement in the fraud.

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North Korean Lazarus Group, a cybercrime organization linked to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), has reportedly stolen over $ 200 million in cryptocurrencies in 2023. The FBI advised caution and avoidance of the addresses associated with the stolen funds, which span various blockchain networks, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, and Polygon. Additionally, the agency attributed other major crypto hacks to the same group, totaling over $ 200 million in losses in 2023.

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