In an Oct. 11 press release, the office of North Dakota Securities Commissioner Karen Tyler announced the issuance of cease-and-desist orders against three companies "promoting unregistered and potentially fraudulent securities in North Dakota in the form of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs)." The press release reported that none of the companies has registered to sell securities in North Dakota, and the Commissioner alleges that each of the three entities made false or unsubstantiated claims about the nature, value, or upside potential of their tokens. The Commissioner's effort is said to be part of Operation Cryptosweep, a coordinated multijurisdiction investigation and enforcement effort involving 40 U.S. and Canadian securities regulators. In a related development, recent reports indicate that two global credit card companies are moving to classify purchases related to cryptocurrencies and ICOs in "high risk" payment categories.
Late last week, the U.S. Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an advisory to U.S. financial institutions regarding Iran's efforts to evade sanctions. The advisory included a section on virtual currency, stating that Iran has engaged in millions of dollars of bitcoin-denominated transactions since 2013. The FinCEN advisory included a reference to guidance from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), under which "compliance obligations with respect to transactions are the same, regardless of whether a transaction is denominated in virtual currency or not."
The U.S. Marshals Service recently announced that it will be auctioning off approximately 660 bitcoin forfeited in various federal criminal, civil and administrative cases involving the FBI, DEA, CBP, and other agencies. According to the U.S. Marshals Asset Forfeiture webpage, the sealed bid auction will require a deposit of $200,000.
To read more about the topics covered in this week's post, see the following:
- Securities Commissioner Issues Orders Against 3 More Companies Promoting Initial Coin Offerings In North Dakota
- Credit Cards to Classify Crypto, ICOs as 'High Risk,' Increase Monitoring, Sources Say
- Advisory on the Iranian Regime's Illicit and Malign Activities and Attempts to Exploit the Financial System
- US Marshals Asset Forfeiture Bitcoin Sale
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