Lithuania: EPPO investigates former MEP assistant on suspicion of fraud involving more than half a million euros
European Public Prosecutor's Office
The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) in Vilnius (Lithuania) in cooperation with the Financial Crime Investigation Service (Finansinių nusikaltimų tyrimo tarnyba - FNTT) is conducting a pre-trial investigation into a suspected fraud involving a former assistant of a Lithuanian Member of the European Parliament.The investigation, that started after a report from the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), is looking into the suspected non-performance or imitation of the actual functions of a parliamentary assistant, with the aim of fraudulently obtaining remuneration from 2014-2019 and unemployment benefits from 2019-2020. The potential damage to the financial interests of the European Union exceeds half a million euros.
Samuel Bankman-Fried Sentenced to 25 Years for His Orchestration of Multiple Fraudulent Schemes
US Department of Justice
Samuel Bankman-Fried, also known as SBF, 32, of Stanford, California, was sentenced today to 25 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $11 billion in forfeiture for his orchestration of multiple fraudulent schemes. Bankman-Fried, who was the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX and the cryptocurrency trading firm Alameda Research, misappropriated billions of dollars of customer funds deposited with FTX, defrauded investors in FTX of more than $1.7 billion, and defrauded lenders to Alameda of more than $1.3 billion.
FinCEN Seeks Comments on Customer Identification Program Requirement
FinCEN
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is issuing a request for information (RFI) related to existing requirements for banks under the Customer Identification Program (CIP) Rule to collect a taxpayer identification number (TIN) from a customer prior to opening an account. Generally, for a customer who is an individual and a U.S. person, banks are required to collect a full Social Security number (SSN) from a customer. The RFI is being issued in consultation with staff at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.