MAPA Finanz GmbH: Public Warning (Switzerland)
Public Warning by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority that MAPA Finanz GmbH “is suspected of conducting unauthorised activities in the financial market”.
Joel Benedict et al: Removal of ‘Fit and Proper Status’ (Seychelles)
Public Notice by the Seychelles Financial Services Authority that it has removed the "fit and proper status" of Joel Prakash Benedict and Christoforos Christoforou.
Blue Nile Services Ltd.: Reasons for License Revocation (Bermuda)
Public Notice by the Bermuda Monetary Authority providing reasons for the revocation of the Money Service Business license of Blue Nile Services Ltd.
Labuan FSA: Business Restrictions (October 30, 2024)
Public Notice by the Labuan Financial Services Authority regarding business restrictions on 31 Labuan Licensed Entities "for non-compliance to minimum capital and/or other regulatory requirements".
NAT Securities Inc.: Notice of Intention to Revoke License (Vanuatu)
Vanuatu Financial Services Commission's Notice of Intention to revoke the Financial Dealers License of NAT Securities Inc.
OneTRADEx Ltd.: Official Liquidation (Cayman Islands)
Public Notice by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority that OneTRADEx Ltd. "was placed into official liquidation" after being in provisional liquidation since October 15th, 2019.
Stephen Dewsnip: Disqualification (Guernsey)
Public Announcement by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission that it "decided to prohibit Mr Stephen Paul Dewsnip from performing any function on behalf of a regulated entity".
Alpmann AG: Public Warning (Switzerland)
Public Warning by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority that Alpmann AG “is suspected of conducting unauthorised activities in the financial market”.
Labuan FSA: Business Restrictions (October 18, 2024)
Public Notice by the Labuan Financial Services Authority regarding business restrictions on 26 Labuan Licensed Entities "for non-compliance to minimum capital and/or other regulatory requirements".
Blue Nile Services Ltd.: License Revocation (Bermuda)
Public Notice by the Bermuda Monetary Authority that it has revoked the Money Service Business license of Blue Nile Services Ltd.
Zedra Trust Company (Guernsey) Ltd. et al: £105K Fines & Disqualification (Guernsey)
Public Statement by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission that it has imposed fines of £90,000 and £15,000 on Zedra Trust Company (Guernsey) Limited and Colin Andrew Borman, respectively, and, additionally, a two-year disqualification on the latter for regulatory breaches.
SEC v. Norman Meier et al: Complaint (‘$7.9M Securities Fraud’)
Complaint alleging the defendant "defrauded over 180
investors, mostly European, out of at least $7.9 million" in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Norman V. Meier, described as a citizen of Switzerland residing in Massachusetts, USA, as Defendant, and Treuhand Inc., Norman Meier International Inc., a.k.a. NMI Inc; Windeco Corporation, Texxon Oil Corp., and International Financial Services Inc., a.k.a. IFS Inc, d.b.a. IRM Inc., as Relief Defendants, at the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
Belasko Jersey Ltd.: £19.2K Fine (Jersey)
Public Statement by the Jersey Financial Services Commission that it has imposed a fine of £19,211 for regulatory breaches.
SEC v. Cumberland DRW LLC: Complaint (‘Unregistered Crypto Securities Dealer’)
Complaint in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Cumberland DRW LLC at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
SEC v. Vy Pham: Complaint (‘Crypto Investment Fraud’)
Complaint that "arises from Defendant Vy Pham’s unregistered offers and sales of two crypto assets as securities, and from her schemes to manipulate the market for those securities " in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Vy Pham at the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
SEC v. Russell Armand et al: Complaint (‘Crypto Investment Fraud’)
Complaint that "arises from the defendants’ unregistered and fraudulent offers and sales of crypto assets being offered and sold as securities to the investing public and their manipulative trading of those securities" in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Russell Armand, Maxwell Hernandez, Manpreet Singh Kohli, described as a resident of England and India, and Nam Tran at the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
SEC v. ZM Quant Investment Ltd. et al: Complaint (‘Crypto Investment Fraud’)
Complaint in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. ZM Quant Investment Ltd., of the British Virgin Islands; Baijun Ou, a.k.a. Eric Ou, and Ruiqi Lau, a.k.a. Ricky Liu, at the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
SEC v. CLS Global FZC LLC et al: Complaint (‘Crypto Investment Fraud’)
Complaint in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. CLS Global FZC LLC, of the United Arab Emirates, and Andrey Zhorzhes, described as a resident of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, at the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
SEC v. Gotbit Consulting LLC et al: Complaint (‘Crypto Investment Fraud’)
Complaint in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Gotbit Consulting LLC, a.k.a. Gotbit Hedge Fund, described as a Belize company that "purports to have offices in Armenia, Portugal, Turkey, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom", and Fedor Kedrov, of Russia, at the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
777 Re Ltd.: License Cancellation (Bermuda)
Public Notice by the Bermuda Monetary Authority that it has cancelled the insurance registration of 777 Re Ltd. for regulatory breaches.
Crypto.com v. SEC: Complaint (‘Network Tokens’)
Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief in Floris Dax Inc., d.b.a. Crypto.com v. U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Gary Gensler, Caroline Crenshaw, Jaime Lizárraga, Hester Peirce, and Mark Uyeda at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
Coinbase Inc. et al v. CFTC: Motion to Compel Compliance With Rule 45 Subpoena (Crypto Regulation)
Motion to Compel Compliance with Rule 45 Subpoena in Coinbase Inc. and Coinbase Global Inc., self-described as the operators of "the nation's largest and only publicly traded digital asset platform" v. Commodity Futures Trading Commission at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
CFTC v. Traders Domain FX Ltd. et al: Complaint (‘Investment Fraud’)
Complaint in Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Traders Domain FX Ltd., d.b.a. The Traders Domain, described as a Saint Vincent and the Grenadines company based in Canada; Fredirick Teddy Joseph Safranko, a.k.a. Ted Safranko, of Canada; David William Negus-Romvari, of Canada; Ares Global Ltd., d.b.a. Trubluefx, of Saint Lucia; Algo Capital LLC, Algo FX Capital Advisor LLC, now known as Quant5 Advisor LLC; Robert Collazo Jr., Juan Herman, a.k.a. JJ Herman; John Fortini, Steven Likos, Michael Shannon Sims, Holton Buggs Jr., Centurion Capital Group Inc., Alejandro Santiestaban, a.k.a. Alex Santi; Gabriel Beltran, and Archie Rice at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Vistra (BVI) Ltd.: $219K Fine (British Virgin Islands)
Enforcement Action by the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission imposing a fine of $219,000 on Vistra (BVI) Limited for contraventions of the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations and Anti-Money Laundering Terrorist Financing Code of Practice, 2008.
Vistra Trust (BVI) Ltd.: $57.5K Fine (British Virgin Islands)
Enforcement Action by the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission imposing a fine of $57,500 on Vistra Trust (BVI) Limited for contraventions of the Anti-Money Laundering Terrorist Financing Code of Practice, 2008.
SEC v. Rivetz International SEZC et al: Order Granting SEC’s Motion for Summary Judgment (‘Unregistered Crypto Securities’)
Memorandum and Order on Cross Motions for Summary Judgment in U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Rivetz Corp., of Delaware; Rivetz International SEZC, of the Cayman Islands, and Steven K. Sprague, described as a resident of the Cayman Islands and Massachusetts, at the U. S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
SEC v. Olayinka Oyebola et al: Complaint (‘Fraudulent Audits’)
Complaint accusing the defendants of "enabling and concealing a massive, multi-year fraudulent scheme in wholesale abdication of their professional obligations as independent public accountants and financial industry gatekeepers" in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Olayinka Temitope Oyebola, an accountant residing in Nigeria, and Olayinka Oyebola & Co. (Chartered Accountants), described as a Nigerian accounting firm "with branch offices in Houston, Texas, and Ontario, Canada", at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
CFTC v. Aipu Ltd. et al: Complaint (‘$3.6M Investment Fraud’)
Complaint alleging a "fraudulent investment scheme" that defrauded "at least $3,630,848.90 from not less than 32 customers" in Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Aipu Limited, of England; Fidefx Investments Limited, of England; Chao Li, of China; Qian Bai, of China, and Lan Bai, of Oklahoma, USA, at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
SEC v. Robert Westbrook: Complaint (‘$3.75M Hack-to-Trade Fraud’)
Complaint alleging "a fraudulent scheme by Westbrook to hack into the computer systems of U.S. public companies to deceptively obtain material nonpublic information about their corporate earnings and to use that information to profit by trading in advance of the companies’ public earnings announcements" in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Robert B. Westbrook, "whose last known address" is in Chelsea, England, at the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
SEC v. Mango Labs LLC et al: Complaint (‘$70M Unregistered Crypto Securities’)
Complaint alleging an "unregistered offer" of "crypto assets" that raised $70 million in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Mango Labs LLC, Mango DAO, and Blockworks Foundation, of Panama, at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
SEC v. Paul Bilzerian et al: Complaint (‘Revenue Fraud’)
Complaint alleging "Ignite - a Canadian company that sells disposable vape pens and other nicotine e-liquid products and whose shares traded in the United States - engaged in a scheme, orchestrated largely by recidivist Bilzerian, who controls Ignite, to fraudulently report revenue" in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Ignite International Brands Ltd., of Ontario, Canada; Paul Bilzerian, described as "a resident of St. Kitts and the father of Ignite’s Chief Executive Officer"; Paul Dowdall, described as "a resident of Ontario, Canada and a Chartered Professional Accountant registered with the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario"; Scott Rohleder, described as a resident of North Carolina, USA; John Schaefer, described as a resident of Yorktown Heights, New York, USA; International Investments Ltd., of Saint Kitts; Accell Audit & Compliance PA, of Tampa, Florida, USA, and Christopher Hiestand, described as a resident of San Antonio, Texas, USA, at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
SEC v. Akshay Kamboj et al: Complaint (‘$4.1M Investment Fraud’)
Complaint alleging "used fake trading data and forged audit reports to convince dozens of investors to invest approximately $16 million in a currency trading hedge fund managed by their firm, Crawford Ventures IM, LLC" in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Akshay Kamboj and Dev Kamboj, described as residents of Gurguram, India, at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Richmond Corporate Services Ltd.: License Revocation (Bermuda)
Public Notice by the Bermuda Monetary Authority that it has revoked the license of Richmond Corporate Services Ltd.
Labuan FSA: Enforcement Actions (December 2015 to September 2024)
Public Notice by the Labuan Financial Services Authority regarding enforcement actions against 118 “Labuan Licensed Entities from December 2015 to September 2024".
Hub Investments Ltd.: Warning Notice (Mauritius)
Warning Notice by the Mauritius Financial Services Commission against Hub Investments Ltd.
Levant Ltd.: License Revocation (Vanuatu)
Public Notice by the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission that it has revoked the Financial Dealers License issued to Levant Limited.
The VETRI Foundation: Public Warning (Switzerland)
Public Warning by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority that The VETRI Foundation “is suspected of conducting unauthorised activities in the financial market”.
Baker Tilly MKM Chartered Accountants: Enforceable Undertaking (Dubai)
Enforceable Undertaking in Dubai Financial Services Authority v. Baker Tilly MKM Chartered Accountants.
SEC v. Anthony Lotito et al: Complaint (‘Bitcoin Mining Leaseback Fraud’)
Complaint alleging the defendants "fraudulently offered and sold unregistered securities as distributors for a purported sale leaseback program involving cryptocurrency-related technology" in U.S. Securities Exchange and Commission v. Anthony Lotito, Joseph Hagan, Revolution Leasing & Administration LLC, and SCRYPTmob II LLC at the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
Vistra Fund Management S.A.: €23K Fine (Luxembourg)
Public Notice by the Luxembourg CSSF that it has imposed a fine of €23,000 on Vistra Fund Management S.A., described as an "alternative investment fund manager", for regulatory breaches, including two instances where fund managers also acted as "external valuers", which "which could not guarantee the independent valuation of the AIFs’ assets".
ProConstruct Trading Ltd.: License Revocation (Mauritius)
Public Notice by the Mauritius Financial Services Commission that it has revoked the license of ProConstruct Trading Limited Limited.
SuperTrade International Trading Ltd.: License Revocation (Mauritius)
Public Notice by the Mauritius Financial Services Commission that it has revoked the license of SuperTrade International Trading Limited.
Em@ney Plc: ‘No New Clients’ (Malta)
Public Notice by the Malta Financial Services Authority that it was ordered Em@ney Plc to "Cease the on-boarding of new clients".
Christian Thurner: $183K Fine & Disqualification (Dubai)
Decision Notice by the Dubai Financial Services Authority imposing a fine of $183,603 and a corporate disqualification on Christian Franz Thurner, who is a citizen of Austria, for regulatory breaches, including lying on a license application to conceal a prior criminal conviction "outside the UAE" for fraud and other offenses, for which "Mr Thurner was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment".
OCS International Finance Ltd.: $721K Fine (Dubai)
Decision Notice by the Dubai Financial Services Authority imposing a fine of $720,905 on OCS International Finance Ltd. for regulatory breaches, including lying on a license application form to conceal that its owner, Christian Franz Thurner, who is a citizen of Austria, had a prior criminal conviction “outside the UAE” for fraud and other offenses, for which “Mr Thurner was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment”.
Mirabaud & Cie SA: CHF12.7M Confiscation (Switzerland)
Public Notice by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority that it has "confiscated CHF 12.7 million of unlawfully generated profits and opened three proceedings against individuals" after finding that Swiss private bank Mirabaud & Cie SA "breached its anti-money laundering obligations and seriously violated financial market law".
Kerry Duggua: Disqualification (Isle of Man)
Public Notice by the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority that it has imposed a 5-year disqualification on Kerry Anne Duggua.
Ian Duggua: Disqualification (Isle of Man)
Public Notice by the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority that it has imposed a 10-year disqualification on Ian Andrew Duggua, who was criminally convicted of tax fraud in the Isle of Man in 2023.
Hi2 Investment Management LLC: $75K Fine (USA)
Administrative Order imposing a fine of $75,000 on Hi2 Investment Management, LLC for regulatory breaches.
Bluehouse Investment Advisors Ltd.: License Revocation (Cyprus)
Public Notice by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission that it has revoked the 'Alternative Investment Fund Manager' license of Bluehouse Investment Advisors Ltd.