ChainCatcher News, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that a man from Austin, Texas, was sentenced to two years in prison for falsely reporting the capital gains from the sale of $3.7 million in Bitcoin on his tax return. According to court documents and statements, Frank Richard Ahlgren III submitted false tax returns between 2017 and 2019, underreporting or failing to report $4 million in Bitcoin sales transactions, from which he made substantial profits. Regulatory provisions require all taxpayers to report any sales profits as well as gains or losses from the sale of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin on their tax returns.Lucy Tan, acting special agent in charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Houston office, stated, "This case marks the first criminal tax prosecution solely related to cryptocurrency." In addition to imprisonment, the man is also required to pay $1,095,031 in restitution to the United States.

ChainCatcher message, Musk responded on X to "a banana taped to a wall sold for $6.2 million" by stating: "Art is often used for money laundering and tax evasion. This largely explains the apparent absurdity."

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the complaint released by the FBI shows that Adam Iza, the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange platform Zort, is suspected of paying up to $280,000 per month in bribes to three officers of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) to illegally obtain search warrants and sensitive police data.The FBI investigation revealed that Iza used this illegally obtained information to extort and harass a victim codenamed E.Z., attempting to gain access to their laptop used for storing cryptocurrency. Case details disclosed that Iza had attempted to kidnap E.Z. and intimidated the victim by sending personal information from the police database.Additionally, the complaint also accuses Iza of concealing tens of millions of dollars in income and failing to pay income taxes between 2020 and 2022. The FBI stated that Iza paid bribes to officers through his company Zort and other affiliated entities, with individual payments sometimes approaching $200,000. Iza has now been charged with conspiracy to violate rights and tax evasion.

ChainCatcher news, Hex and PulseChain founder Richard Schueler (also known as Richard Heard or Richard Heart) is currently under criminal investigation in Finland for serious tax evasion and assault charges.According to local Finnish media YLE, Finnish police suspect Schueler, who resides in Helsinki, of serious tax evasion and assault. Helsinki detective Harri Saaristola stated that Schueler is suspected of owing hundreds of millions of euros in taxes to Finland. Harri Saaristola explained that discrepancies between Schueler's tax returns and the revenue assessments from the tax office prompted the investigation.Authorities are currently unclear about his whereabouts. Finnish authorities estimate that Schueler's income for 2023 exceeds 15.2 million euros, but the tax evasion allegations are unrelated to his capital income. Finnish law enforcement believes that the cryptocurrency founder created, launched, and marketed his cryptocurrency in Finland, and that the marketing scope of these projects extends internationally.

ChainCatcher news, the Abuja High Court in Nigeria will deliver a verdict on the Binance tax evasion case on October 11, 2024. According to reports, Binance faces four charges of tax evasion, including failure to register for tax with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) of Nigeria.According to local media, Binance's lawyer Ayodele Omotilewa appeared in court on Friday, July 12, and pleaded not guilty to all four charges before Judge Emeka Nwite. Omotilewa urged the judge to dismiss the charges, arguing that the case lacks substance and is similar to previous dismissals of charges against Binance executives Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla.Judge Nwite decided to postpone the case until October for further deliberation and review of the evidence presented. This gives both the defense and prosecution more time to prepare their respective cases.

ChainCatcher news, according to financefeeds, dozens of countries including the US, Japan, and the UK have signed a joint statement agreeing to a set of cryptocurrency tax rules developed by the OECD, known as the Crypto Asset Reporting Framework (CARF). The joint statement indicates that the signatory countries will accelerate the transformation of CARF into domestic legislation and promptly initiate exchange agreements to facilitate exchanges starting in 2027.The report notes that the Crypto Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) is expected to be launched in 2027 for information sharing, as part of these countries' efforts to combat tax evasion using digital assets.

Chain Catcher news, according to The New York Times, the Attorney General of the District of Columbia has reached a $40 million settlement with billionaire and Bitcoin investor Michael Saylor and his software company MicroStrategy to end a lawsuit accusing him of evading income taxes.The official stated that this agreement is the largest income tax fraud recovery case in the region's history. It is also the first lawsuit filed in the region under the revised False Claims Act, which encourages whistleblowers to report tax evasion claims against residents they believe are concealing their actual residence.The lawsuit alleges that Saylor evaded over $25 million in income taxes. The Attorney General sued the tech executive and MicroStrategy in 2022, claiming that from 2005 to 2020, he submitted false tax returns with the company's assistance.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, Binance and its executives are facing money laundering and tax evasion charges, and the bail hearing for detained Binance compliance officer Tigran Gambaryan took place on Friday in Nigeria. The court ruled that the federal inland revenue service's tax evasion charges could be served to Binance through Gambaryan. Gambaryan's lawyer opposed this application on the grounds that they needed to review the amended charges to provide defense advice for Gambaryan, and the court agreed to postpone the matter until May 22 for further proceedings.The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) money laundering trial began on Friday, with a Nigerian prosecutor calling Abdulkadir Abbas from the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission as the first prosecution witness. After the prosecution completed its questioning of the first witness, Tigran's lawyer requested a recess to obtain certified records of certain documents used for cross-examination of the witness in the evidence presentation. The court postponed the trial until noon on May 23.A Binance spokesperson stated, "We are deeply disappointed that Tigran Gambaryan continues to be detained, as he has no decision-making power within the company. Tigran has dedicated most of his life to public service and fighting crime. The charges against him are completely unfounded. He should be released while discussions between Binance and Nigerian government officials continue."Earlier today, it was reported that a Nigerian court denied bail for Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan.

ChainCatcher news, early Bitcoin investor Roger Ver has been charged by the Department of Justice with mail fraud, tax evasion, and filing false tax returns. Roger Ver was arrested this week in Spain on U.S. criminal charges. The U.S. will seek to extradite Roger Ver to face trial in the United States.It is reported that Roger Ver originally resided in Santa Clara, California, and owned two companies, MemoryDealers.com Inc. and Agilestar.com Inc., which sold computer and networking equipment. Since 2011, Roger Ver began acquiring Bitcoin for himself and his companies, and he personally became an advocate for Bitcoin, even earning the nickname "Bitcoin Jesus."On February 4, 2014, Roger Ver renounced his U.S. citizenship, and after moving abroad, U.S. law required Roger Ver to file tax returns reporting capital gains from the sale of his global assets (including Bitcoin), and he was required to pay taxes on those capital gains.The Department of Justice believes that Roger Ver caused the IRS a total loss of at least $48 million.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoinist, Nigerian Federal High Court Judge Emeka Nwite has stated that the trial regarding the tax evasion case against Binance and some of its executives has been postponed again to May 17.It is reported that this is the second time the Nigerian Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has postponed the tax evasion case against Binance. On April 4, the case was postponed for the first time because FIRS failed to deliver the subpoena before the scheduled court date. On March 22, FIRS accused Binance and two of its executives of committing four counts of tax evasion.

ChainCatcher News, the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) has stated that as the tax filing deadline of April 15 approaches for American citizens, the agency is preparing for a significant increase in future cryptocurrency tax crime cases. Guy Ficco, head of IRS Criminal Investigation, indicated that the IRS is getting ready to handle the rise in tax fraud and evasion cases that will follow.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has stated that as the tax filing deadline of April 15 approaches for American citizens, the agency is preparing for a significant increase in future cryptocurrency tax crime cases. IRS Criminal Investigation Chief Guy Ficco stated that the IRS is preparing to handle the increase in tax fraud and evasion cases that will follow.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) of Nigeria has accused Binance of tax evasion. Binance is charged with four counts of tax evasion, including failure to pay Value Added Tax (VAT), corporate income tax, failure to file tax returns, and conspiring to help clients evade taxes through its platform.Previously, the Nigerian government detained two Binance executives. According to reports from local media over the weekend, citing informed sources, one of the detained Binance executives, Nadeem Anjarwalla, has escaped.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, 47 countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and Switzerland have committed to authorize the implementation of the Crypto Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) by 2027. This is a new international standard for the automatic exchange of information among tax authorities; it will be incorporated into their domestic legal systems to enhance the ability to ensure tax compliance and combat tax evasion.In addition, these countries also invited other jurisdictions to join in a joint statement to strengthen the global automatic information exchange system and combat tax evasion.

ChainCatcher news, according to the Seoul Economic Daily, the Commissioner of the National Tax Service of Korea, Kim Chang-ki, stated during his speech at the 2023 National Tax Administration Forum: "We will severely crack down on malicious tax evasion, including new types of tax evasion based on online platforms." He also emphasized the need to strengthen cooperation among countries to combat related tax evasion, given the rapid development of the virtual asset industry, including cryptocurrencies, in recent years.The National Tax Service of Korea plans to review the opinions discussed, including improving legislation and establishing an international information exchange system, and to incorporate them into policies as much as possible.

ChainCatcher news, according to Yonhap News Agency, the Korean National Tax Service is conducting tax investigations on artists, athletes, YouTubers, and others suspected of tax evasion, with a total of 84 individuals under investigation, and the amount of tax evasion nearing 10 billion won (approximately 7.92 million USD). Among them, a certain YouTuber misappropriated billions of won from the sales revenue of their video lectures in the form of virtual currency and established more than 10 consulting firms under the name of employees, collecting false tax calculation documents under the guise of management service fees. (Source link)

According to Chain Catcher news, as reported by Bitcoin.com citing Yonhap News Agency, the South Korean authorities have seized nearly 260 billion won (approximately 184 million USD) in crypto assets from South Korean citizens accused of tax evasion over the past two years. Among the seized assets, about 176 billion won in crypto assets were due to unpaid national taxes, and about 84 billion won in crypto assets were due to unpaid local taxes. (Source link)