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sanash t1_j50h11q wrote

Honestly surprised DeSantis didn't bring this criminal into his administration and put him in charge of the state's economy.

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Beard_o_Bees t1_j50up0y wrote

He could have bolted to Mar-a-Lago... where he would doubtlessly be welcome.

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InevitableAvalanche t1_j50tgi8 wrote

Probably did. But even Russian scam artists have more integrity than become a modern Republican.

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drawkbox t1_j52husr wrote

Probably part of the Dark Money DeSantis network

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GoFidoGo t1_j53f39a wrote

"He'll use his shrewd business tactics for the benefit of the American public!"

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[deleted] t1_j50n8m2 wrote

Most interested in who the “majority owners from Miami” are. Conspicuously absent from the article.

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HunkyMump t1_j50w5mp wrote

Non Russians who are looking forward to their share increasing.

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ItIsYourPersonality t1_j5whj54 wrote

Let’s see… FTX was just busted and it’s been revealed that stock based coins they traded were not actually backed by shares of stock, but were being used as “locates” for shorting stock. I’d start looking into hedge funds that used crypto tokens as share locates. Perhaps ones that reported record profits in a year of record losses for other hedge funds, and coincidentally just recently moved their headquarters to Miami….

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HappyFunNorm t1_j50j1bw wrote

What?!? Money laundering using crypto?!

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Drone314 t1_j50qsrt wrote

Even Pikachu ain't shocked anymore. Nothing good has come from crypto, just a waste of electricity and graphics cards....

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LTuvok t1_j50sso9 wrote

That's why you use an NFT as your profile pic?

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InevitableAvalanche t1_j5113bc wrote

How is it good? It is just a picture. If they are making it an NFT it is just another waste of energy for no reason. Can't really judge someone for using it since Reddit hands them out.

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IronMyno6 t1_j53bvtn wrote

Its the geek version of I'm gonna put all my mediocrity into being a basketball or rap, movie star.

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MarkMoneyj27 t1_j55cod2 wrote

Distributed ledgers are like bendable glass, it's an invention looking for a problem it will eventually find.

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ryansgt t1_j53vktq wrote

It's the wild west, that's for sure. Saying there isn't a use for it just shows a general misunderstanding of the technology.

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apcolleen t1_j53ysut wrote

Wait does this mean NFTs are bunk too... god... this is world shattering... I have some calls to make!

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ryansgt t1_j53trje wrote

I mean if it's a privacy coin, sure. You'd have to be a major idiot to attempt to launder through most because it's literally a public ledger. There is a completely public record of every transaction on chain since inception.

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[deleted] t1_j53g3o4 wrote

[deleted]

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Ed_Durr t1_j53waw8 wrote

I convert $10,000,000 into bitcoin. I send that bitcoin to my good friend Pablo, who in turn ships me a few tons of cocaine. Pablo then converts that bitcoin into pesos.

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LordOfTheTennisDance t1_j50y76l wrote

Oh no...I am so shocked that a fraudulent currency was used to commit....... Fraud.

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point_breeze69 t1_j517rdm wrote

Which one? The US Dollar?

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unforgiven91 t1_j519myk wrote

USD can be spent on pretty much anything.

I ain't paying $50+ in exchange fees to buy a beer with bitcoin

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BagHolder9001 t1_j5715u5 wrote

you don't realize everything you buy has a build credit card fee ? Whether you like it or not there is a middle man so where making money if every transaction you make

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unforgiven91 t1_j571q2e wrote

that 10 cents is already built in to the price tag, and it doesn't rapidly fluctuate based on random market forces

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BagHolder9001 t1_j574v05 wrote

Last time I checked inflation makes prices swing and so does that build in fee

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unforgiven91 t1_j5795sc wrote

note the word "wildly"

inflation increases prices at a fairly steady rate. A snickers bar isn't 10 dollars one minute, and 25 cents the next minute

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BagHolder9001 t1_j57adye wrote

do you know that MoneyGram gram is building international money transfers via blockchain? give it time prices will stabilize and you will be using it without even knowing

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unforgiven91 t1_j57ay5t wrote

I can't wait for the whole world to be tied in to the blockchain, having that chain be immutably broken and exploited then forked in to a new blockchain because wealthy investors lost money. Now we live in a reality where 2 similar chains exist and neither chain can identify what's real.

Definitely a system I look forward to existing, and definitely not the worst idea I've ever heard

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BagHolder9001 t1_j57kyzg wrote

we don't need the whole world to run on it just things that make sense (transparency) like transactions and eliminate hundredths of bankers across the world

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unforgiven91 t1_j57l9yl wrote

that mandates regulation, though.

effectively, it'll just become the banks we currently have but more vulnerable to attacks and doxxing

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BagHolder9001 t1_j57lw0h wrote

huh looking and bs going on at US bank right now, all the hacks at insurance companies ( blue cross blue shield) credit companies lost a lot of info ( Equifax?) target and home Depot got hacked...I don't think we are any less vulnerable via blockchain actually exponentially MORE secure

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point_breeze69 t1_j53hirb wrote

Bitcoin may not be the chain to perform beer transactions. Ethereum using layer-2s and roll-ups are though. Major companies like visa and MasterCard are already in the processing of adopting this tech because it’s cheaper and faster.

Bitcoin is great for moving large amounts of value though. Nothing comes close to its efficiency. Recently a billion dollars of value was transferred for something like .68 cents in tx fees. That isn’t happening with cash or gold, not even close.

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PoopyBootyhole t1_j521bdf wrote

You don’t? You can actually pay a fee that’s a fraction of a penny…

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unforgiven91 t1_j5224wg wrote

gas fees are a dollar from what I can tell. so i was being a bit hyperbolic but within the loooooooong time that bitcoin takes to process a transaction, those fees (and your bitcoin) can fluctuate wildly

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PoopyBootyhole t1_j522t29 wrote

Have you heard of the lightning network? It’s instantaneous payments, and fees are literally like .000001$.

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unforgiven91 t1_j5230w7 wrote

i wonder how that'll eventually be used to scam people

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PoopyBootyhole t1_j5242is wrote

Lmao you should do some reading. If someone gets scammed that’s their own fault. Not bitcoins.

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Actual__Wizard t1_j51dtdk wrote

You have certainly used the US dollar for legitimate and legal transactions.

Cryptocurrency is not currently used for those types of transactions...

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point_breeze69 t1_j53h5t5 wrote

Maybe not in the US but in a lot of other countries it is being used for everyday things. Latin America, Ukraine, parts of Africa for example.

It’s coming to the US soon too. Mastercard and Visa are currently working to integrate the Ethereum blockchain into their payment process system. Layer 2s are faster and cheaper then traditional ways of payment processing.

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Ed_Durr t1_j53vgn4 wrote

El Salvador has lost nearly $100,000,000 in the year since they adopted bitcoin as a currency.

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PoopyBootyhole t1_j521sfi wrote

Crazy how people think the US dollar isn’t an actual Ponzi scheme and a larger percentage of dollars is used for fraudulent transactions than crypto. It’s actually really stupid to use crypto for illicit activities considering it’s a public ledger. You gotta be extra stupid to use crypto for fraud.

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point_breeze69 t1_j53iqg1 wrote

People love to defend the monetary system that fuels war, raises inflation, helped to create an ever increasing wealth gap, and is controlled by politicians and big banks. I can understand why, those guys have been ardent defenders of the workingman since the invention of the wheel.

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Ed_Durr t1_j53vot8 wrote

You’re right, we should just let Scam Bankman-Fraud control the system instead.

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PoopyBootyhole t1_j53lyp8 wrote

People are conditioned to the current system so they think there isn’t another way or the one we have is fine. It’s not. An infinite money/ cheep debt based system where wealth funnels to the top creates more problems than people realize. It’s a Ponzi scheme on a absolutely massive scale and the losers are us through a hidden tax called inflation.

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Different-Music4367 t1_j50ht6t wrote

From the article:

> Bitzlato did business with customers in the U.S. and its employees advised users that they could transfer funds to American banks. Legkodymov allegedly led the exchange as its senior executive and majority owners from Miami since 2023. He faces a maximum of 5 years in prison if convicted, but federal authorities on Wednesday stressed that the investigation is ongoing and additional  charges could follow.

That's where he screwed up. Even so, the US government has very limited jurisdiction, as he is not a US national and most of his company's criminal activity is extraterritorial.

On paper his maximum sentence looks to be even lighter than Al Capone getting caught on tax evasion.

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SpaceTabs t1_j52lzlo wrote

There is also indictments for Binance execs if they ever present. For violating Iran sanctions.

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Different-Music4367 t1_j51ftlj wrote

Re: u/BurritoLover2016

They accused me of being a Russian bot, more or less.

As for Capone, it's a bit relative. He died shortly afterwards, but that was probably due to untreated syphilis (as was the fashion of the time ;) He only served 8 of his 11 year sentence and lived another 7 years afterwards.

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BurritoLover2016 t1_j51povu wrote

Ah gotcha, yeah then that's just dumb.

Also, thanks for showing me that you can mention another user like this. Super useful!

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[deleted] t1_j50jxbe wrote

[removed]

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Different-Music4367 t1_j50kknk wrote

Nice reading comprehension bro. By your logic I guess I'm also upset that they busted Al Capone? 🤔

Why don't you direct that outrage to the fact that our politicians have made it so that 700 million dollars in money laundering apparently has a maximum sentence of 5 years?

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BurritoLover2016 t1_j514qc9 wrote

I don't know what they said as the comment is deleted but your wording on Capone's sentence is....odd. Yes, he only received 11 years but seeing as he essentially spent the rest of his life behind bars after being convicted, that's a strange analogy?

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The_Goondocks t1_j50kcgp wrote

I don't see him defending the guy so much as interpreting the article.

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MrDinglehut t1_j512jlk wrote

Is that not the goal of cryptocurrency?

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brain-gardener t1_j517mug wrote

Good Guy DOJ reminding folks that crypto is not some untraceable asset for criminals

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unforgiven91 t1_j51a0dh wrote

crypto is hilariously easy to trace, which is the best part. wait until you snag that sweet NFT you've been eyeing. the moment you post about it (because what's the point of an nft if you can't pump and dump the asset with artificial hype?), the wallet and all of its transactions immediately connect to you

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BagHolder9001 t1_j571ca1 wrote

as intended so we can track all transactions, the govt should be using it by default

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ultradianfreq t1_j50wc00 wrote

Would be nice if bankers faced similar repercussions for things like laundering money for cartels.

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OlSnickerdoodle t1_j51eegw wrote

I'm sorry but the High Tech Axis of Crypto Crime sounds like a pretty cool super villain group

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SucksToYourAssmar3 t1_j51kenx wrote

COWER BEFORE THE MIGHT OF FINTECH!

Cyber-sharkman villain bursts through the wall

WE'RE HERE TO TAKE A BITE OUT OF TRADITIONAL BANKING! ENTRUST YOUR MONEY TO THE FEARSOME FINTECH AND SEE RETURNS OF 1 JILLION PERCENT! CASH IN YOUR 401K!

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[deleted] t1_j50kiv1 wrote

[removed]

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Constant-Ad9398 t1_j50kufe wrote

Are you speaking from experience?

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Icanbotthinkofaname t1_j50l1gi wrote

I plead the fifth! lol

Seriously though, it was designed to bypass banks and governmental oversight aka money laundering.

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Constant-Ad9398 t1_j50ld3h wrote

Doesn't seem to work that well since they keep getting caugth

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Icanbotthinkofaname t1_j50lkub wrote

I didn't say it was a good way to do it, I said it's what it was designed for.

Just pay your percentage and the laundromat

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Constant-Ad9398 t1_j50mndv wrote

If i was doing money laundering I'd prefere to use a bank, cartels, inside traders, billionaires etc. use it all the time and they seems to get away with it or use one of the many loopholes in our financial system like donate art or have my own charity organizations or something like that

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statslady23 t1_j50p9vp wrote

Our local drug dealers used the nail salons. Those nail salon owners had the nicest cars- and never any customers.

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statslady23 t1_j50ox72 wrote

When you give your dark money to someone, you might expect them to skim a little fee off the top, instead the exchanges are keeping it all and spending it, lol.

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caseyjcannon t1_j517jzt wrote

More and more I feel a huge driving force being the crypto fad was driven by Russia's Internet Research Agency (a troll farm) to massively redistribute wealth and launder money. By no means the only force, but the crossover of personalities favoring it and involved in Russian narratives is hard to take as a coincidence. I'm speculating too much, to be fair, and sadly the anonymous nature and lack of investigative resources to try and identify any trends will likely mean we'll never know who truly profited from the crypto scheme.

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ready2diveready2die t1_j51vb3b wrote

There’s a financial terrorist that opened up shop in Miami goes by the name of Kenneth C. Griffin. When will his day be up?

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HereForTheEdge t1_j533cam wrote

The one that lied under oath to congress? The one that colluded with the Robin Hood company and illegally stop the buying of a certain stock?

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Led_Halen t1_j50vk76 wrote

A Crypto Crime Capo? Crazy!

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Fiddler_s_green t1_j54wmho wrote

Crypto, Russians, Crime. Who could have seen this coming......

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FerociousPancake t1_j51h1cj wrote

Probably was giving money/dealing with republican funds. They do love Russia and PuPu…

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jert3 t1_j53roi4 wrote

Great! Less criminals in crypto, the better.

It still seems like it will be years of dragging its heels before the SEC, and similar organizations actually give crypto a fair chance at legislation that protects consumers, same as they do for banks.

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Ello_Owu t1_j568sxj wrote

I know absolutely nothing about crypto, but always had the suspicion that it was pushed into the mainstream for oligarchs to get around sanctions.

Remember when Russian oligarchs were getting their shit seized left and right after those sanctions were thrown on them after the invasion of Ukraine? And right around that time crypto basically tanked hard.

Little suspicious

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[deleted] t1_j51ce0u wrote

[deleted]

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Redqueenhypo t1_j51ggr6 wrote

The article mentions that it’s used mainly in Russian speaking countries. Most redditors don’t speak Russian, therefore less likely to know about it

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Actual__Wizard t1_j51e3jz wrote

Yeah okay... /eyeroll

I'm not sure where you get your information from, but you might want to rethink your source...

I mean maybe the visible internet that is easily searchable is not a good place to hide information about crime right?

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Bumazka t1_j53mn3u wrote

It’s the same as using money for money laundering

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Thanhansi-thankamato t1_j518civ wrote

Everyone here acting like banks haven’t been laundering dirty money for ever and like they don’t launder far more.

Edit: This just in, traditional financial corp does traditional finance things but this time with crypto.

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