criminal

According to a report by the Korea Unified News Agency, the Jongno Police Station in Seoul announced the dismantling of a money laundering crime group primarily composed of family members and relatives.The group operated an unregistered virtual asset exchange in Myeongdong, Seoul, converting cash obtained from telephone scams into Tether (USDT) and then transferring it overseas, with the money laundering scale reaching hundreds of billions of Korean won.In addition, the group also took advantage of rising precious metal prices to purchase gold through virtual assets across borders and then exported it for profit. The police have arrested 19 suspects, including the main money laundering perpetrator A (46 years old) and three others who have been detained. The overall leader of the scam organization, B (44 years old), has fled overseas, and the police are in pursuit. Currently, cash, silver balls, and gold bars totaling approximately 6 billion Korean won have been seized as criminal proceeds.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has filed a criminal lawsuit against Kalshi, stating, "Kalshi may pride itself on being a 'prediction market,' but in reality, it operates illegal gambling activities and accepts bets on Arizona elections, both of which violate Arizona law. No company has the right to unilaterally decide which laws to follow."Kalshi is currently facing other legal lawsuits in states such as Ohio and Tennessee.

According to Hong Kong media Hong Kong 01, the Hong Kong police have cracked a money laundering case involving the use of puppet accounts and virtual currency exchange shops. It is reported that two mainland Chinese individuals opened puppet accounts in Hong Kong, using 43 local bank accounts to receive 34 sums of money from different fraud cases, and purchased cryptocurrency at virtual asset exchange shops, laundering approximately HKD 17.3 million in criminal proceeds.Analysis of the fund flow shows that the criminal group conducted cryptocurrency transactions through local bank accounts, laundering as much as HKD 230 million. The Hong Kong police charged the two individuals with 3 and 10 counts of money laundering respectively. After reviewing the case, the court approved heavier sentences of 28 months and 43 months in prison for the two.

According to a report by The Wall Street Journal citing informed sources, the Federal Reserve is secretly initiating a legal challenge in response to two subpoenas issued by U.S. prosecutor Jeanine Pirro in the criminal investigation against Powell.Pirro, a longtime ally of President Trump, launched the investigation to examine whether Powell made false statements to Congress last summer regarding the Federal Reserve building renovation project. This action prompted Powell to respond publicly in an unprecedented manner, stating in a video statement on January 11 that the investigation is a guise for Trump's ongoing pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates and undermine the central bank's independence.In the secret proceedings, the Federal Reserve is requesting the judge to quash the subpoenas to reduce or eliminate its obligation to respond. The specific legal arguments have not been disclosed. In high-profile investigations, it is not uncommon for recipients of subpoenas to challenge prosecutors on the grounds that the requests are overly broad or involve information protected by legal privilege.Due to the confidentiality rules applicable to criminal investigations before grand juries, this legal battle is quietly ongoing and not open to the public.

According to Eleanor Terrett, U.S. Republican lawmakers Fitzgerald (Wisconsin), Cline (Virginia), and Democratic lawmaker Lofgren (California) jointly proposed the "Blockchain Innovation Development Act," aimed at clarifying the applicability of Section 1960 of the Criminal Code.The bill explicitly states that Section 1960 applies only to entities that control customer funds, rather than developers who merely write code. Previously, in cases like TornadoCash and SamouraiWallet, regulators had applied this provision to non-custodial software developers, leading to a strong backlash from the crypto industry. This bill will provide legal protection for blockchain developers and address the long-standing conflict between crypto innovation and regulation.

According to Kommersant, Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a new law that grants Russian courts new powers to confiscate cryptocurrencies in criminal investigations.The law will amend the Russian Criminal Code to classify cryptocurrencies as a form of intangible property. Elena Ardabyeva, Deputy Minister of Justice of Russia, stated that the law formally incorporates existing digital asset confiscation protocols into the legal framework and provides a legal avenue for cooperation with foreign cryptocurrency exchanges.The law stipulates that requests for the confiscation of cryptocurrencies made by police or prosecutors must include detailed information such as the type of tokens, quantity, and wallet addresses. Experts suggest that the Kremlin may begin to block citizens' access to foreign cryptocurrency exchanges this year.

According to ForkLog, several Russian media outlets cited information from the country's Federal Security Service stating that Telegram founder Pavel Durov is under criminal investigation for allegedly assisting terrorist activities, in accordance with Article 205.1, Clause 1.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (assisting terrorist activities).The investigation involves the dissemination of illegal content, with accusations that the platform's administrators ignored requests from the Russian communications regulator to delete banned channels and chats, and that Telegram has been used for criminal activities and for publishing materials from extremist and terrorist organizations.The Russian communications regulator began restricting the service in the summer of 2025 due to an increase in fraudulent activities, and in February 2026, it intensified "traffic limiting" measures on the grounds that the platform was not complying with Russian laws. Durov responded at the time by stating that "Telegram defends freedom of speech and privacy."

The U.S. Department of Justice announced that the cryptocurrency trading platform Paxful Holdings Inc. has been fined $4 million for failing to establish effective anti-money laundering controls.Prosecutors alleged that the platform has long allowed illegal funds related to fraud, prostitution, and human trafficking to flow through it, profiting from these activities. The Department of Justice stated that Paxful was aware that some customer funds were derived from criminal activities but continued to provide services, using lax anti-money laundering regulations as a selling point to attract users. The investigation also pointed out that the platform processed cryptocurrency transactions for websites including Backpage, which is believed to have been used to post advertisements related to prostitution, involving minors. Data shows that from 2015 to 2022, approximately $17 million worth of Bitcoin flowed through Paxful wallets to related websites, with the platform earning at least $2.7 million in profits from this. The Department of Justice stated that Paxful's founder even referred to the resulting business growth as the "Backpage Effect."

According to reports from Zhong'an Online, the Hefei Xinzhan Public Security Bureau discovered that a virtual currency exchanger was providing money laundering services for a fraud gang while handling a telecom network fraud case involving 260,000 yuan. On January 15, 2026, the police arrested the suspect Liu in Sichuan.Investigation revealed that Liu had been engaged in virtual currency trading since 2020, contacting upstream buyers through overseas chat software and conducting transactions with fraudsters on illegal trading platforms. In June 2025, after selling virtual currency on an illegal platform, Liu withdrew the illicit funds that were transferred to his account to his personal WeChat account, which is suspected of concealing and disguising criminal proceeds. The case is currently under further investigation.

According to Decrypt, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy from Connecticut has warned that a deal involving UAE investors secretly paying Trump-associated cryptocurrency firms may involve potential criminal activity. Murphy alleged that four days before Trump's inauguration, Aryam Investment, linked to UAE Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, agreed to acquire 49% of Trump-associated cryptocurrency company World Liberty Financial for $500 million, with approximately $187 million flowing to entities associated with the Trump family and at least $31 million going to family-associated entities of Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.Subsequently, the Trump administration approved the expansion of UAE's access to advanced U.S. AI chips, which had been restricted during the Biden administration. In his Senate speech, Murphy summarized the accusation as: a secret massive transfer of funds to Trump and envoy-associated families, followed by the U.S. sharing restricted security technology with the UAE. He stated that this is corruption, constitutes elements of bribery, and is potential criminal behavior, warning that although accountability may be delayed, the consequences are inevitable, the rule of law will return, and those who trade power for money will go to jail. Previously, it was reported that a confidant of the Abu Dhabi royal family secretly invested $500 million to acquire 49% of the Trump family's WLFI company; Trump responded that he was unaware of the $500 million investment from Abu Dhabi into WLFI, and that his sons were handling it.

According to China News Service, Hong Kong hosted the annual meeting of the International Criminal Police Organization's Cybercrime Expert Group for the first time. The meeting covered various topics including online extortion, artificial intelligence, and virtual asset tracking. Chief Superintendent Chow Man-ming of the Hong Kong Police Force noted the emerging trends in crimes related to virtual assets and established a virtual asset intelligence task force last year as a public-private partnership to jointly address technological challenges.The Hong Kong police have also developed a virtual asset tracking system that visualizes the virtual asset investigation process and fully supports investigators.

According to market news, Kazakhstan's central bank investment subsidiary "NIC" announced that it will utilize cryptocurrencies confiscated from criminals by law enforcement, along with foreign currency and gold reserves, to expand the newly established national cryptocurrency reserve fund.The company's head, Timur Suleimenov, stated that $350 million worth of foreign exchange and gold has been allocated as initial funding for the fund. The central bank does not plan to directly hold cryptocurrencies at this stage, but will invest through five selected hedge funds and will invest in cryptocurrency venture capital funds. President Tokayev stated at a national financial regulatory agency meeting that the police have closed 130 illegal cryptocurrency exchanges, confiscating assets worth over $5 million, and instructed agencies to develop specific proposals to combat cryptocurrency crime.

According to a report by Jiemian News, the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement regarding the repatriation of Chen Zhi to China, stating that the decision was made in accordance with Cambodian law and complies with relevant judicial assistance and legal cooperation procedures. Regarding the revocation of Chen Zhi's Cambodian nationality, the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the decision strictly follows the provisions of the law. If a naturalized citizen is found to have obtained Cambodian nationality through forged documents or by providing false information during the application process, the government has the right to revoke their nationality in accordance with the law.The statement emphasized that such actions demonstrate Cambodia's ongoing commitment to strengthening international cooperation to maintain peace, stability, and socio-economic development, and effectively combat transnational crime activities.

The Korea Customs Service Incheon Headquarters has cracked a case of counterfeit luxury goods sales, involving approximately 77,000 counterfeit items, valued at about 120 billion won (approximately 90 million USD) based on the market price of genuine products.The suspects profited 16.5 billion won (approximately 12.4 million USD) from selling counterfeit luxury goods through an online mall, and converted part of the criminal proceeds into cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, with about 500 million won (approximately 380,000 USD) stored in a hardware wallet to evade confiscation. Law enforcement has seized related cryptocurrency assets and frozen assets including apartments, hotels, and luxury cars worth about 8 billion won (approximately 6 million USD).

According to CNBC, White House National Economic Council Director Hassett downplayed the federal criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Friday, stating he expects "no issues." In an interview, Hassett mentioned that the Fed's inquiry is merely a simple request for information, which will be provided shortly, after which the investigation will continue. He also expressed hope for more transparency regarding the cost overruns on the renovations at the Fed's headquarters, which is also a focus of the Justice Department's investigation.

According to CCTV News, recently, the head of a major cross-border gambling and fraud crime group, Chen Zhi, was legally escorted back to the country from Cambodia. Chen Zhi's criminal group is suspected of multiple crimes including fraud, operating casinos, illegal business operations, and concealing criminal proceeds. The case is currently under investigation. In order to implement a criminal policy that balances leniency and severity, and to legally punish gambling and fraud crimes while providing an opportunity for fugitives to reform and seek leniency, the following announcement is made in accordance with relevant legal provisions:From the date of this announcement until February 15, 2026, if criminal suspects voluntarily surrender to the public security organs and truthfully confess their crimes, they may receive a lighter or reduced punishment according to the law. Those who threaten, retaliate against, or obstruct suspects intending to surrender will be held criminally responsible according to the law. The public security organs urge relevant criminal suspects to recognize the situation, cherish the opportunity, and promptly surrender to the public security organs at their place of household registration to seek leniency. Those who refuse to surrender will be publicly wanted, and efforts will be made to capture them and punish them according to the law.

According to Decrypt, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg urged New York state lawmakers to classify unlicensed cryptocurrency businesses as a criminal offense and called for enhanced law enforcement tools to combat crypto crime.Bragg warned that a criminal economy worth $51 billion is thriving in regulatory blind spots, allowing criminals to launder money from guns, drugs, and fraud without punishment. He specifically pointed out that unlicensed crypto ATMs, which charge fees of up to 20% to convert cash into digital assets, are one of the main issues. He argued that all crypto businesses must be subject to mandatory licensing and comply with Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations, with violators facing criminal liability. If the proposal is passed, New York will become the 19th state in the U.S. to criminalize unlicensed crypto operations.

According to Jinshi News, Goldman Sachs Chief Economist Jan Hatzius stated that the latest news regarding the criminal investigation of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will intensify concerns about the independence of the Federal Reserve.He expects that the FOMC will continue to make interest rate decisions based on its statutory responsibilities and economic data.