Category Archives: Securities and Exchange Commission

US rise of cryptocurrency and fall of regulation pose ‘profound risks’ – report

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Center for Political Accountability, which advocates for corporate disclosure, warns of fallout from Trump’s efforts

A new report warns of “profound risks” in American politics as cryptocurrency companies increase their political spending and Donald Trump oversees regulatory retreat while promising to create a “crypto strategic reserve”.

The situation “illustrate[s] the profound risks that unchecked corporate political spending presents, particularly within the volatile and often unpredictable cryptocurrency industry”, reads the report, from the Center for Political Accountability (CPA), a non-profit that advocates for corporate political disclosure.

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Human rights group urges UK financial regulator to block Shein’s LSE flotation

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Campaigners allege Uyghur people used as forced labour at some of fast-fashion retailer’s cotton suppliers in China

A human rights group has urged Britain’s financial regulator to block the Chinese fast-fashion retailer Shein’s planned blockbuster flotation on the London Stock Exchange.

Stop Uyghur Genocide, a UK-based human rights charity that alleges minority Uyghur people are being used as forced labour at some of Shein’s cotton suppliers in China’s north-western Xinjiang region, has begun a legal campaign against the planned stock market listing.

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Ticketmaster hit by data hack that may affect 560m customers

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Cybercrime group ShinyHunters reportedly demanding £400,000 ransom to prevent data being sold

Ticketmaster has been targeted in a cyber-attack, with hackers allegedly offering to sell customer data on the dark web, its parent company, Live Nation, has confirmed.

The ShinyHunters hacking group is reportedly demanding about £400,000 in a ransom payment to prevent the data being sold.

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Shein ‘steps up plan for London IPO’ amid US listing hurdles

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Sources say Singapore-based online fashion retailer founded in China prefers a float in New York but faces tougher scrutiny than expected

The fast-fashion company Shein is stepping up preparations for a London listing after its attempt to float in New York faced regulatory hurdles and pushback from US lawmakers, sources have told Reuters.

The online clothing retailer plans to update China’s securities regulator on the change of the initial public offering (IPO) venue and file with the London Stock Exchange (LSE) as soon as this month, said one source.

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SEC says ‘compromised’ account to blame for tweet approving Bitcoin ETF

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Price of bitcoin briefly spiked more than $1,000, as ETF would have given way to invest without buying outright on a crypto exchange

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said Tuesday that a post sent from the agency’s account on the social platform X/Twitter announcing the approval of a long-awaited bitcoin exchange-traded fund was “unauthorized”, and that the agency’s account had been “compromised”.

The price of bitcoin briefly spiked more than $1,000 after the post on X claimed: “The SEC grants approval for #Bitcoin ETFs for listing on all registered national securities exchanges.” Cryptocurrency investors had already driven bitcoin’s price above $46,000 in anticipation of the approval.

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Businessman who tried to buy Sheffield United accused of ‘elaborate’ fraud

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US watchdog sues Dozy Mmobuosi for allegedly faking documents and making up companies out of ‘thin air’

A Nigerian businessman who appeared to be closing in on a takeover of the Premier League football club Sheffield United is being sued by the US financial watchdog for a fraud, in which he is alleged to have faked documents and made up companies out of “thin air”.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said on Monday it had filed charges against Dozy Mmobuosi, claiming he inflated his companies’ financial performance by hundreds of millions of dollars to defraud investors.

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Was crypto on trial with Sam Bankman-Fried?

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Binance and Coinbase are under investigation – but Bitcoin was trading at highest value in a year as FTX founder convicted of fraud

As the trial of the former crypto star and FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried began last month, headlines declared cryptocurrency was on trial too.

But when Bankman-Fried was found guilty on seven counts of wire fraud and money-laundering conspiracy Thursday evening, after less than five hours of jury deliberations, Bitcoin was trading at its highest price in a year.

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Tesla investigated over funds ‘used to build secret Austin house for Elon Musk’

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Reports suggest plans for ‘Project 42’ included a glass structure that contained a residential element for the chief executive

US prosecutors are investigating Tesla over alleged use of company funds for a secret project described internally as a house for Elon Musk, the electric carmaker’s chief executive.

Information sought from Tesla by the US attorney’s office for the southern district of New York includes personal benefits paid to Musk, how much was spent on the project and its purpose, according to the Wall Street Journal.

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Spurs billionaire Joe Lewis pleads not guilty to securities fraud

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Lewis, whose family owns Tottenham Hotspur FC, is accused of ‘brazen’ insider trading

Lawyers for the British billionaire Joe Lewis have accused prosecutors of making an “egregious” mistake, as the 86-year-old pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of securities fraud and conspiracy.

Lewis, who heads the family that owns Tottenham Hotspur FC, was arraigned on Tuesday in Manhattan federal court with 16 counts of securities fraud and three of conspiracy to commit fraud, which prosecutors called a “brazen” insider trading scheme to enrich his friends, lovers and employees, including two private jet pilots.

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Cryptocurrency exchange Binance hits back at SEC lawsuit, saying allegations ‘simply wrong’ – as it happened

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This blog is now closed. You can read the full report here: Binance accused of mishandling funds

Here’s a quick summary of what happened today:

The US Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange, the most serious action taken by US regulators against the company.

The SEC said that Binance operated a shell company, Binance.US, to skirt federal regulators, along with diverting customer funds to outside entities.

Binance issued a response to the SEC’s lawsuit saying that it had been complying with regulators’ “questions” and was looking to negotiate a settlement with the agency.

In the aftermath of news of the complaint, the price of Bitcoin fell below $26,000 for the first time since March.

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Sam Bankman-Fried: FTX founder charged with defrauding investors

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SEC says investigation into other alleged misconduct by former CEO of crypto exchange is ongoing

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former chief executive of the crypto exchange FTX, has been charged with fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the US and violate the campaign finance laws.

The eight criminal charges filed by the US attorney’s office for the southern district of New York on Tuesday follow civil charges brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission charging the 30-year-old former billionaire with defrauding investors in the company.

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Former US Coinbase employee and two others charged with insider trading

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Cryptocurrency exchange manager and his brother arrested in Seattle in what is described as the first case of its kind

A former Coinbase employee and two others have been charged in what federal authorities described as the US government’s first cryptocurrency insider trading case.

Ishan Wahi, a product manager at the cryptocurrency exchange, and his brother Nikhil Wahi were arrested in Seattle on Thursday. They and a third defendant, their friend Sameer Ramani, who remains at large, also face civil charges from the US financial watchdog, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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Elon Musk under scrutiny once more over Twitter deal

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The SEC has asked the Tesla chief to submit any material aimed at influencing shareholders after it finds issue with previous filings

The US financial watchdog has stepped up the pressure on Elon Musk over his attempt to buy Twitter by asking further questions about his filings during the process.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) asked Musk why he did not amend a filing related to the deal in a letter sent last month, according to correspondence disclosed by lawyers representing the Tesla CEO on Thursday. The disclosure by Musk’s lawyers also reveals that the SEC has asked the entrepreneur to file any material aimed at influencing shareholders properly, after pointing out an issue with one such filing.

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Top banks could be investigated over $20bn fire sale of hedge fund assets

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Collapse of Archegos has reportedly prompted SEC and FCA inquiries into Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Nomura and others

UK and US regulators are looking into whether global investment banks breached rules by holding group discussions shortly before launching a fire sale of nearly $20bn worth of assets belonging to the distressed hedge fund Archegos Capital Management, according to reports.

The Securities Exchange Commission is said to have requested further information from major US banks Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley, as well as Japan’s Nomura and Swiss lender Credit Suisse about a meeting with Archegos founder Bill Hwang on Thursday.

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Deutsche Bank to pay $16m to settle US ‘princelings’ case

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Regulator had said it corruptly hired unqualified relatives of foreign officials to win business

Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay a $16m (£13m) fine to US authorities overallegations that it hired unqualified relatives of powerful Russian and Chinese government officials to win business.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleged that Germany’s largest lender had used false books to record the hirings, which meant the relatives – known in China as “princelings” – did not have to go through rigorous interview processes.

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iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) Stake Increased by PFS Investments Inc.

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PFS Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission . The firm owned 181,656 shares of the exchange traded fund's stock after purchasing an additional 21,381 shares during the period.

NY Comptroller wants to know companies’ greenhouse gas emissions

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New York's Comptroller Tom DiNapoli says he backs a bill by U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren, to require that publicly traded... New York's Comptroller Tom DiNapoli says he backs a bill by U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren, to require that publicly traded companies disclose to the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, how their businesses effect climate change. The companies would have to report greenhouse gas emissions, and what steps they are taking to minimize the risks in the operations.

ALJs Could Get Political With New Executive Order

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The new executive order granting agency chiefs the power to hire administrative law judges according to their own standards - and eliminating the exam and competitive hiring process formerly in place - could turn the position of ALJ into a politicized one, critics of the move argue. The "Executive Order Excepting Administrative Law Judges from the Competitive Service," signed by President Donald Trump on July 10, attempts to solve the problems raised by the Supreme Court's decision this year in Lucia v.

Donnelly, Heller Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Protect Seniors from Financial Abuse and Scams

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U.S. Senators Joe Donnelly and Dean Heller introduced the bipartisan National Senior Investor Initiative Act of 2018 today in the Senate. The proposal, which is aimed at protecting seniors from financial crimes and scammers, would create a dedicated task force within the Securities and Exchange Commission to strengthen protections for seniors who make investments.