Značka: Corruption

Thousands petition for congressional investigation of alleged Gensler–SBF links

Almost 4,000 people have used a CryptoLaw petition app to demand that Congress investigate United States Securities and Exchange Commission head Gary Gensler’s “actions in the FTX fraud,” the organization claimed in a tweet on the morning of Nov. 14. The CryptoLaw website is run by lawyer John Deaton, who is representing Ripple against the SEC and contributes frequently to the public discourse on the case. The petition reads, in part:“Evidence has emerged that proves that Gensler met with […] [FTX CEO] Sam Bankman-Fried, before the $14 billion collapse of FTX. Members of Congress have already been informed that Gensler was working with Bankman-Fried to give FTX a regulatory free pass while a massive fraud was going on right under the SEC’s nose. […] It’s time for a full Congressional investigation of Gensler’s role in one of the biggest financial frauds in American history.”Gensler’s alleged links with bankrupt FTX and Bankman-Fried, also known as “SBF,” began to attract attention practically as soon as the disgraced exchange’s troubles became public. Republican Representative Tom Emmer, who has a long record as a crypto supporter, tweeted on Nov. 10 that “reports to my office allege he [Gensler] was helping SBF and FTX work on legal loopholes to obtain regulatory monopoly.” Memo on Samuel Bankman Fried’s 3/23/22 meeting with SEC Chairman Gensler’s staff. Remember these names. pic.twitter.com/CmsIqhtQQX— FoiaFan (@15poundstogo) November 14, 2022Emmer did not elaborate on the source or nature of the reports he referred to, but media reports point to a 45-minute Zoom meeting on March 23 between senior counsel Amanda Fischer and senior adviser Corey Frayer from the SEC and representatives of the IEX stock exchange and FTX, including SBF himself. FTX later invested in the IEX exchange.

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El Salvador's Bitcoin purchase information can't be made public: Trustee

Ever since El Salvador legalized Bitcoin (BTC) as mainstream tender, President Nayib Bukele used Twitter on numerous occasions to announce the country’s BTC acquisitions. However, ALAC El Salvador — a non-governmental anti-corruption bureau — was recently denied information from a state development bank, BANDESAL, regarding El Salvador’s Bitcoin purchases and sales.As a development bank for El Salvador, BANDESAL created a $150 million trust fund to guarantee the convertibility to dollars for citizens and merchants. The request for disclosure of El Salvador’s Bitcoin acquisition was denied on the grounds of confidentiality. Snippet of BANDSEL’s response to ALAC El Salvador — a non-governmental anti-corruption bureau. Source: ALAC El SalvadorALAC El Salvador refuted the denial by highlighting that the BTC purchases were made using public funds. Their official statement translated to:“The confidentiality limits the possibility for citizens to access and receive information on the operations carried out with public funds by BANDESAL.”In its refusal statement, BANDESAL said that no information related to the Bitcoin Trust (FIDEBITCOIN) could be shared by the trustee or its board of directors to safeguard national interests.Publicly available information hints that El Salvador purchased 2,301 BTC to date, which has fallen in value over the past year from $103.9 million to roughly $45 million. Related: Pro-crypto city of Lugano and El Salvador sign economic agreement based on adoptionAdding on to the country’s piling pressure to suffice its year-long Bitcoin purchases, Spain took over El Salvador’s spot to become the third-largest crypto ATM hub in the world.El Salvador attained the third spot after installing 205 ATMs to support the country’s thriving Bitcoin economy, amounting to a network of 212 crypto ATMs. However, Spain recently recorded 215 active ATMs, representing 14.65% of European installations.

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Polygon powers India police complaint portal, battling corruption

The 2.8 million citizens of India’s Firozabad district may now be able to sleep a little tighter after the launch of a new police complaint portal that uses blockchain technology to prevent manipulation.On Oct. 12, Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal announced in a series of tweets that the Polygon blockchain protocolo is now being used by Firozabad police in Uttar Pradesh to fight against local police corruption and crime. Called the First Information Report (FIR), the portal allows victims of crimes to register complaints against local police officers without the complaints either being dismissed or manipulated by potentially corrupt officers. Nailwal shared that the project was very close to his heart because he grew up hearing stories of victims not getting justice due to local police corruption, many of who were victims of rape.Police Complaints(FIR) on blockchain powered by @0xPolygon This is very close to my heart. We grow up hearing about so many of such cases wherein due to some corruption in a local police department, victims(mostly of rapes) are not even able to register complaint or…1/2 https://t.co/k9gRMD6r08— Sandeep | Polygon 3️⃣ (@sandeepnailwal) October 12, 2022The video shared by Nailwal was posted by the Firozabad police, featuring a snippet from the senior superintendent of Firozabad police, Ashish Tiwari.Nailwal said the FIR going on the blockchain ensures that the reports can not be manipulated or denied by lower-level officers and “could be a game-changer in ensuring right to justice.”In the announcement, Nailwal also thanked the police commissioner for going beyond the call of duty to implement and innovate with technology to ensure equitable justice.The announcement from the Firozabad police has also been picked up by others in the crypto community, with many seeing it as great news for Polygon, blockchain technology and the citizens of Firozabad. Twitter user srinigoes, a veteran of the Indian navy, commented to their 15,200 followers it was “an amazing initiative” to get complaints registered on the blockchain, which would ensure transparency.“The biggest problem in the interiors of India was whoever registered the FIR (First Information Report) first, had first mover advantage,” he said. 1/2This is an amazing initiative. To get the complaints registered on blockchain. At least the blockchain will ensure transparency. The biggest problem in the interiors of India was whoever registered the FIR (First Information Report) first, had first mover advantage. https://t.co/vMbEWRG4Rr— Srini ~ Akash the Ape (@srinigoes) October 12, 2022

Kashif Raza, founder of crypto education startup Bitinning, noted on Twitter that the first complaint portal on Polygon has now been launched, meaning:“1) Complaints are now immutable. 2) Verifiable. 3) Easy to file.”Related: Australian state police sets up crypto division to trace transactionsOn Oct 6, Cointelegraph reported that Polygon announced a partnership with the Ocean Conservation Exploration and Education Foundation (OCEEF) to promote ocean literacy through new creative, entertaining and engaging ways to give people exposure to deep underwater missions.

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Puerto Rico wants to combat corruption with blockchain technology

Following another corruption scandal, the government of Puerto Rico is reportedly seeking to improve its anti-corruption efforts by adopting blockchain technology.Puerto Rican House Speaker Rafael “Tatito” Hernandez announced that lawmakers will hold meetings with local blockchain enthusiasts this month to discuss the potential adoption of blockchain technology to reduce corruption.The implementation of blockchain and smart contracts could bring more transparency and accountability to the public sector, the official said at a Puerto Rico Blockchain Trade Association conference, Bloomberg reported on Dec. 6.“We have a real credibility problem and this might be part of the solution,” Hernandez said, adding that there is also a broader effort to make Puerto Rico a hub for crypto and blockchain innovation. According to the official, the emerging industry could be a way for the bankrupt commonwealth to revive its economy. “Back in the 60s and 70s we had the niche of manufacturing. […] This is a new niche, a new opportunity to create jobs,” Hernandez said.The speaker’s comments came amid growing corruption concerns in Puerto Rico as a local mayor reportedly pleaded guilty to accepting more than $100,000 of bribes in cash last week.Puerto Rico is not alone in exploring the potential anti-corruption capabilities of technologies like blockchain and digital currency. Last year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark reported on blockchain’s potential to fight administrative and political corruption. The United Nations’ drugs and crime agency also advised Kenya to use blockchain to combat government corruption in November 2020.Related: Gibraltar’s government plans to bridge the gap between public and private sectors with blockchainWhile multiple jurisdictions are looking at cryptocurrencies’ underlying technology as a tool to cut corruption, some governments like Russia prohibit its deputies and officials from holding crypto, citing corruption concerns.One of the world’s most corrupt countries, Russia could in fact use crypto to reduce corruption, according to Maria Agranovskaya, a legal attorney and fintech expert in the Russian State Duma. Agranovskaya told Cointelegraph that cash is way more popular for illegal activity like corruption because it’s more difficult to trace:“If you convey proper KYC and AML at the start, crypto flows can be much more easy to trace, only proper rules of the game should be in place.”

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