12 stories this week:
Kim Kardashian and Floyd Mayweather sued over alleged crypto scam – 14 January 2022
The celebrity reality TV star and boxer are facing a lawsuit alleging they misled online followers into buying crypto as part of a “pump and dump” scheme. The lawsuit claims that the celebrities made “false or misleading statements” while promoting a crypto token sold by ethereum, or EMAX.
Santos agrees to pay $400k to Rallen over Beetaloo Basin gas wells dispute – 14 January 2022
Rallen Australia (Australia’s biggest landholding company) had taken the multinational energy company Santos to court, alleging they had misled and deceived farmers by not alerting them to revisions of the Environmental Management Plan (EMP), the company had undertaken to add two additional gas wells to the land at Tanumbirini Station.
https://ntindependent.com.au/santos-agrees-to-pay-400k-to-rallen-over-beetaloo-basin-gas-wells/
Dirty cash and crypto: how the booming cryptocurrency market is open to exploitation – 15 January 2022
Austrac, says the criminal use of cryptocurrency is no longer confined to online scammers like Evan Leslie McMahon who used faked Paypal accounts to store money. Now criminals are trying to deposit criminal proceeds through a digital currency exchange provider and send money to a counterpart offshore using cryptocurrency itself.
North Korean hackers stole $550m worth of cryptocurrency in 2021, report say – 15 January 2022
North Korea is described as the country “that supports cryptocurrency-enabled crime on a massive scale”. It launched at least seven attacks on cryptocurrency platforms in 2021, extracting nearly $US400 million ($550 million) worth of digital assets, one of its most successful years on record. The United Nations has accused Pyongyang of using stolen funds to support its nuclear and ballistic missile programs to circumvent sanctions.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-15/north-korea-cryptocurrency-hack/100758468
https://www.news.com.au/technology/north-koreas-cryptocurrency-crimes-on-a-massive-scale/news-story/bf56c67bc656bab721e3093d9ee12784
‘Do not rely on social media ads’: ASIC warns Australians with self-managed super funds that cryptocurrency scams are on the move – 17 January 2022
The financial market watchdog has issued a clear warning about cryptocurrency scams impacting self-managed super funds, as fraudsters continue to target older Australians and their retirement savings. In December, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission declared losses of up to $109 million.
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/cryuptocurrency-scam-self-managed-super-fund-asic
https://www.channelnews.com.au/asic-warns-of-crypto-superannuation-scams/
Market expected to expand with a CAGR of 8.3% over the forecast period from 2017 to 2025 – 17 January 2022
One of the popular methods of crime detection is the use of forensics technology. The rising influence of forensic technologies in various crime investigation scenarios will present an array of opportunities for the forensic technologies market during the forecast period of 2017-2025. Transparency Market Research’s (TMR’s) report on the forensic technologies market has every component that will assist the stakeholder in understanding the current scenario. The link is in the article.
European Union: Exposing The Truth: What The EU Whistleblower Directive Means For Global Business – 18 January 2022
The global pandemic has heightened issues around whistleblowing like never before. On December 17, there was the implementation of the EU’s new whistleblowing directive that was due to be adopted into national laws by different EU states, but as a consequence further issues and challenges have come about.
How to avoid ATO crackdown on SMSF early withdrawal scam – 19 January 2022
The ATO will be looking out for self-managed super funds (SMSFs) that lodge late returns in its crackdown on unlawful early withdrawal of savings, according to scheme specialists. Paul Rafton, superannuation national leader for BDO Australia, an accounting, tax and consulting group, says late lodgement is one of the ATO’s triggers for launching an investigation.
(Access to digital version of AFR required to read article.)
Australia, UK to jointly target state-based actors and ransomware groups – 20 January 2022
Australia and the United Kingdom have signed a pact to crack down on state-based actors, ransomware groups and other “malign actors” that use cyber attacks to “undermine freedom and democracy”. The two countries also intend to “strengthen the resilience and response capabilities of countries in the Indo-Pacific region to malicious cyber activity via joint capacity building activity”.
New York attorney-general says Donald Trump’s company misled banks, tax officials – 20 January 2022
Former US president Donald Trump’s company has misrepresented the value of its assets by millions of dollars to get loans, insurance and tax breaks, according to documents filed by the New York attorney-general.
Financial crime in 2021: Year in review – 20 January 2022
The past 12 months have been eventful in the world of financial crime. From policy reforms to the Pandora Papers to pandemic fraud, compliance professionals, law enforcement and legislators have had plenty to chew on. This article summarises ten of the most important events of 2021, with a view to what we can expect in the coming year.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/financial-crime-2021-year-review-aperio-intelligence/
Investment and romance scams soar as Australians lose record $323 million in 2021 – 20 January 2022
Australians unwittingly handed over a record $323.7 million to scammers in 2021, leaping 84 per cent compared to 2020, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) Scamwatch. There were 286,608 reports made to Scamwatch in 2021, up 32 per cent on the year before. cammers continued to leverage the global pandemic, state-wide lockdowns and remote working.
