On Nov. 7, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire granted the Securities and Exchange Commission’s motion for summary judgment in SEC v. LBRY, Inc.
Continue Reading SEC v. LBRY, Inc.: The SEC’s Latest Crypto Victory
Virtual Currencies, Digital Assets & the Law
Kyle R. Freeny, a skilled trial attorney and former federal prosecutor for the Special Counsel’s Office and the Department of Justice (DOJ), Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS), focuses her practice on white collar criminal defense, government and internal investigations, and anti-money laundering (AML) and international corruption matters.
Kyle was one of 19 prosecutors selected by Robert S. Mueller III to conduct the high-profile investigation into alleged Russian election interference, coordination between Russian officials and the Trump campaign, and related matters. As Assistant Special Counsel, Kyle played a lead role in federal tax and bank fraud investigations, as well as a money laundering investigation into the funding of Russian intelligence cyber intrusions during the 2016 Presidential election using cryptocurrency.
While at the Department of Justice, Kyle was involved in investigations relating to major international money laundering and corruption matters, including matters involving the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and foreign banking and corruption laws designated as predicates to U.S. money laundering charges. Kyle has considerable experience handling cross-border issues and coordinating with foreign law enforcement authorities and U.S. and foreign regulators on complex transnational financial cases.
Kyle has also represented dozens of federal agencies in high-profile litigation, including the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the Department of Defense, and the Federal Financing Bank. Kyle has appeared before federal trial courts across the country.
‡ Admitted in California. Practice in the District of Columbia limited to matters and proceedings before Federal courts and Agencies.
On Nov. 7, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire granted the Securities and Exchange Commission’s motion for summary judgment in SEC v. LBRY, Inc.…
Continue Reading SEC v. LBRY, Inc.: The SEC’s Latest Crypto VictoryOn Oct. 11, 2022, the U.S. Treasury Department announced that cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex Inc. had agreed to settle $53 million total in fines over allegations it violated sanctions and anti-money-laundering…
Continue Reading Crypto Exchange Bittrex Settles $53 Million in Fines with Treasury Department for Sanctions, Anti-Money-Laundering ViolationsOn Aug. 8, 2022, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed economic sanctions on Tornado Cash, a popular cryptocurrency mixing service that allows customers to…
Continue Reading OFAC Sanctions Cryptocurrency Mixing Service for Allegedly Facilitating Money Laundering
On June 30, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced criminal charges against six defendants in four separate criminal cases involving alleged fraud in the offering of cryptocurrency investment…
Continue Reading DOJ Signals Concerted Effort to Prosecute Alleged Cryptocurrency Fraud
On Jan. 20, 2022, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Fed) issued the Money and Payments: The U.S. Dollar in the Age of Digital Transformation paper (Paper)…
Continue Reading Federal Reserve System Takes First Step Toward Creating Its Own Digital Currency
On Feb. 18, 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced a $507,375 settlement with BitPay, Inc., an Atlanta-based payment processing company that enables…
Continue Reading OFAC Resolution with BitPay Highlights Importance of Sanctions Compliance for All Companies Engaged in Digital Currency Transactions
On Dec. 18, 2020, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that would impose on banks and money services …
Continue Reading FinCEN Proposes to Extend Recordkeeping, Reporting, and Identity Verification Requirements to Certain Virtual Currency and Digital Asset Transactions
On October 8, 2020, the Department of Justice’s Cyber-Digital Task Force (DOJ) published “Cryptocurrency: An Enforcement Framework” (the Framework), which provides DOJ’s perspective on emerging law enforcement issues and challenges
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Continue Reading DOJ’s Cryptocurrency Framework: A New Perspective?
As another sign of the times, but arguably quite apt given the subject matter, the Consensus Blockchain Conference convened virtually in 2020, with Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Director Ken
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Continue Reading FinCEN Director Confirms Enforcement Focus on Virtual Currency AML Compliance
In the last decade, traditional financial institutions such as banks and broker-dealers have faced increased scrutiny from federal regulators and prosecutors related to the adequacy of their anti-money laundering (AML)…
Continue Reading AML Compliance Scrutiny of Virtual Currency Services in 2020 and Beyond