Chinese Bribe Scandal Deepens for FTX Founder
New revelations have emerged in the Chinese bribe scandal involving Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Testimony from Caroline Ellison, co-founder of Alameda Research, suggests that Bankman-Fried paid $150 million in bribes to Chinese government officials in 2021, a significantly higher amount than previously disclosed. As a result of a money-laundering investigation, $1 billion worth of Alameda Research’s digital assets were frozen by Chinese law enforcement. In an attempt to negotiate the release of the funds, FTX and Alameda staff allegedly created accounts using the identification of a Thai prostitute. When this strategy failed, Bankman-Fried resorted to paying a $150 million bribe to unfreeze the accounts. A separate trial related to the bribery charges has been scheduled for March 2024.
Binance Clarifies Account Freezing Policy
Yi He, co-founder of Binance, has clarified the exchange’s policy regarding the freezing of accounts. She stated that only accounts suspected of violating international sanctions will be frozen upon law enforcement requests. This clarification comes after reports that Binance froze accounts of individuals suspected of being Hamas militants at the request of Israeli law enforcement. Yi He emphasized that Binance does not confiscate or freeze assets of ordinary users and highlighted that the exchange has not frozen the accounts of ordinary Russians despite the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Chinese Court Deems Crypto Lending Contracts Invalid
A Chinese court has ruled that crypto lending contracts are invalid due to the illegality of the underlying asset. The ruling was made in a civil lawsuit where the plaintiff had lent 80,000 USDT to the defendant for stablecoin trading, but the defendant defaulted on the loan. The judge stated that virtual currencies are not considered legal tender, lack legal compensation, and cannot be used as currency in the market. Business activities related to virtual currencies are deemed illegal financial activities that disrupt the national financial order and are strictly prohibited. It is important to note that this ruling does not apply to the digital yuan, China’s central bank digital currency.
Hacker Returns Stolen Assets to Huobi
In a surprising turn of events, a hacker has returned all of the 5,000 Ether (approximately $8 million) stolen from cryptocurrency exchange HTX, formerly known as Huobi. Justin Sun, the de-facto owner of HTX, confirmed the return of the stolen funds. Sun expressed gratitude to the hacker for fulfilling their promise and even rewarded them with a white hat bonus of 250 ETH. Last month, HTX’s hot wallet was hacked, leading to the theft of the 5,000 Ether. Sun had offered a bounty and threatened legal action if the funds were not returned. The incident raised concerns as HTX had claimed to hold around $3 billion in users’ assets.
This News Article was automatically generated by Bob the Bot (AI)
| Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Geography | Asia |
| Countries | |
| Sentiment | positive |
| Relevance Score | 1 |
| People | None |
| Companies | Huobi, FTX, HTX, Cyvers Alerts |
| Currencies | Thena |
| Securities | None |
