A library of snippets
xxx
The Chinese authorities arrested a gang of 63 for laundering $1.7 billion with crypto.
From China Arrests 63 Gang Members For Laundering $1.7B With Crypto:
Authorities also disclosed that the gang has been operating since May 2021 and made the illicit funds through fraud, pyramid schemes, gambling, and other illicit activities. The gang then employed the use of crypto assets to launder their illicit wealth.
xxx
Prosecutors carried out a string of searches over several days and said cash worth about €600,000 had been found at the home of one suspect, €150,000 at the flat of an MEP and €750,000 in a suitcase in a Brussels hotel room.
From EU corruption scandal: MEP denies Qatar bribery after €1.5m seized – BBC News:
xxx
xxx
Decentralized finance is, in my view, a category that started off honorable but limited, turned into somewhat of an overcapitalized monster that relied on unsustainable forms of yield farming, and is now in the early stages of setting down into a stable medium, improving security and refocusing on a few applications that are particularly valuable
xxx
xxx
Bitsafe secures payments, money and other digital assets of businesses and individuals worldwide independent of their trade, profession, race, ethnic or social origin, gender, religion or sexual identity. Bitsafe’s got talent.
xxx
xxx
In daylight, the coat relies on something like a Disillusionment Charm, in that it appears to have a relatively inconspicuous camouflage pattern—which is, in fact, an algorithmically generated design that scrambles the all-seeing eye of the security camera. At night, meanwhile, the coat uses a technique closer to something from the Predator film franchise, using embedded thermal devices to make heat patterns that confuse infrared thermal scanners.
xxx
xxx
According to the Journal, the plan being considered goes like this: a scammer convinces a customer to transfer money from her legitimate account at Bank A to a fraudulent account at Bank B. Assuming the banks agree that fraud occurred, Bank B would reimburse Bank A, and Bank A would reimburse the customer.
From Can Zelle Fraud Be Halted by a Tech Fix? Some Say Yes. | Observer.
xxx
xxx
The Cabinet Office has found that 42 per cent of people with no photo ID are unlikely to apply for one: “This would suggest that close to half of those without photo ID would not seek to apply for the voter card,” it admitted.
From Electoral Commission warns of problems with UK’s new voter ID | Financial Times.
xxx
xxx
In D’Aloia v (1) Persons Unknown and (2) Binance Holdings Limited and others, the High Court of England and Wales granted the claimant permission to serve court proceedings on ‘persons unknown’ over blockchain, by way of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
From Service by NFT – Court serves defendants by ‘airdrop’ into digital wallet – Lexology.
xxx
xxx
The Italian government’s draft budget for 2023 will increase the ceiling for cash payments to €5,000 ($5,280), despite criticism from a Bank of Italy official.
Under current law, Italians may use cash for payments of up to €2,000, but this ceiling had been set to fall to €1,000 from January 1. The new budget will instead raise that limit.
The amendment would also allow merchants to refuse to accept digital payments for transactions up to €60. Currently, merchants must accept electronic payments of any size, and can be fined if they refuse.
From Italy to allow larger cash payments despite central bank objections – Central Banking:
xxx
xxx
More than four-in-five card transactions were made using debit cards, with the rest made up of credit and charge cards.
As a proportion of total money spent, cash accounted for just 8 per cent of consumer spend (down from 15 per cent), while credit cards rose slightly to 23 per cent, and debit cards rose significantly to 67 per cent.
From Cash usage halved in 2021 as debit card fees pile more pressure onto retailers | E&T Magazine:
xxx
Snippings