Tether freezes $873K USDT linked to terrorist activity in Ukraine, Israel

October 16, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Tether freezes 3K USDT linked to terrorist activity in Ukraine, Israel

The stablecoin issuer freezes addresses containing $873,000 USDT linked to illicit activity in Israel and Ukraine.

Stablecoin issuer Tether has moved to freeze 32 addresses linked to terrorist activity in Israel and Ukraine in collaboration with local law enforcement agencies.

$873,118 worth of Tether (USDT) linked to illicit activity in Israel and Ukraine have been frozen, according to an announcement from the company. The action was taken in collaboration with Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing.

Paolo Ardoino, who was appointed as Tether CEO in October, highlighted the fact that cryptocurrency transactions are easily traced on blockchain platforms, enabling Tether to assist in blocking the use of USDT linked to terrorist funding.

“Contrary to popular belief, cryptocurrency transactions are not anonymous; they are the most traceable and trackable assets."

The CEO added that the stablecoin issuer is actively working with global law enforcement agencies to track and trace the illicit movement of funds and, where possible, freeze assets linked to criminal and terrorist activity.

In late 2022, Tether had frozen over $360 million in assets. The company subsequently re-issued over $100 million of USDT that had been intercepted.

The company now estimates it has frozen a total of $835 million of USDT, mainly associated with blockchain and cryptocurrency exchange hacks. Tether has worked with 32 countries worldwide to address illicit cyber activity involving its dollar-backed stablecoin.

In June 2023, Israel’s defense minister Yoav Gallant announced that the country had seized cryptocurrency wallets containing millions of dollars transferred to the terrorist organization Hezbollah.

Using Chainalysis’ blockchain analysis tools, over $1.7 million of cryptocurrency was seized in the operation.

Meanwhile, blockchain data indicates that cybercriminals have moved away from using Bitcoin (BTC) to transfer value over the internet, preferring to use stablecoins and altcoins due to their accessibility and ability to be laundered through decentralized exchanges.

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Ukraine rolls out AI regulation roadmap

October 9, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The roadmap is based on a bottom-up approach that suggests providing businesses with tools to prepare for future requirements before adopting any laws.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation presented its regulatory roadmap for artificial intelligence (AI) on Oct. 7. The roadmap was published on the ministry’s website and states that it aims to help local companies prepare for adopting a law analogous to the European Union’s AI Act. It also seeks to educate citizens on protecting themselves from AI risks.

According to the roadmap’s announcement text, it is based on a bottom-up approach that suggests moving from less to more: it will provide businesses with tools to prepare for future requirements before adopting any laws.

The roadmap sets this preliminary period to adopt the companies to potential laws in the next two to three years. As the Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation, Oleksandr Borniakov specifies:

“We plan to create a culture of business self-regulation in several ways. In particular, by signing voluntary codes of conduct that will testify to companies’ ethical use of AI by companies. Another tool is a White Paper that will familiarise businesses with the approach, timing, and stages of regulatory implementation.”

The draft of the Ukrainian AI legislation, according to the roadmap, is expected in 2024, but no sooner than the EU will pass into effect its AI Act so that the national law will take it into account.

In June, the EU AI Act passed the European Parliament. Once implemented, the act would prohibit certain types of artificial intelligence services and products while limiting or restricting others.

Among the technologies outright banned are biometric surveillance, social scoring systems, predictive policing, so-called “emotion recognition,” and untargeted facial recognition systems. Generative AI models, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard, would be allowed to operate under the condition that their outputs be clearly labeled as AI-generated.

Ukrainian government reports $81M tax loss from unregulated crypto exchanges since 2013

August 2, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Ukrainian government reports M tax loss from unregulated crypto exchanges since 2013

Coin Telegraph

A crypto bill signed into law in 2022 paved the way for the Ukrainian government to amend its tax code, but local exchanges still largely operate outside this framework.

According to data provided by the Ukrainian government, cryptocurrency exchanges offering services in the country have failed to contribute more than $81 million to the national budget in the last decade.

In an Aug. 2 notice, the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine reported unrelated crypto exchanges were responsible for at least 3 billion hryvnia in lost taxes — roughly $81 million — from 2013 to 2023. The government body said it had analyzed trading activity of exchanges created by residents of Ukraine which had roughly $55 billion in Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Tether (USDT) volume over the same time period.

"There are different points of view on how these transactions should be taxed, and [the bureau] will act in accordance with the provisions adopted by the deputies,” said Andriy Pashchuk, deputy director of the Economic Security Bureau. “But it is obvious that while the issue drags on, the state continues to lose tens of millions in taxes every month.”

Бюджет втратив 3 млрд грн податків від діяльності криптобірж

Деталі https://t.co/9ZyXZjsLOl pic.twitter.com/mXz2fPpPf9
— Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine (@ESBU_gov_ua) August 2, 2023

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a piece of legislation called ‘On Virtual Assets’ into law in March 2022, establishing a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies in the country. At the time, the government said it was working on amending Ukraine’s tax and civil codes to accommodate the legal framework, but no amendments to existing requirements have been implemented as of August 2023.

Many Ukraine-based crypto users on Telegram questioned whether they would be required to provide ‘backpay’ of taxes based on transactions over the last ten years. Some pointed to the government’s failure to adopt the regulations despite the law being passed in 2022.

“If they had adopted the law [...] everything would have been settled a long time ago,” said Telegram user Vini2010w. “They themselves boycotted, and now they consider it a lost profit. Idiots.”

Many parts of Ukraine continue to face the threat of missile attacks following the Russian military's invasion in February 2022, with Moscow reportedly occupying roughly 18% of the country in the eastern and southern regions. Government buildings and operations in Kyiv are within Ukrainian control.

Despite the difficulties Ukrainians at home and abroad face, many parts of the country’s tech sector have reportedly continued to grow amid the Russian invasion — roughly 5% year-on-year growth in annual export revenues. Many industry professionals also support Ukraine’s military efforts.

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Ukraine demands local crypto businesses to provide financials

August 1, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Central Bank

Trading volumes on the Ukrainian crypto exchange Kuna have shrunk 90% since March 2023 due to government policies, the CEO said.

The government of Ukraine has recently approached the local cryptocurrency industry with a new request to provide certain financial information.

The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) had demanded four local crypto firms — Kuna, CoinPay, GEO Pay and Qmall — to provide financial statements for the first two quarters of 2023. The NBU has demanded the crypto businesses to provide the financials within seven days.

Kuna exchange founder and CEO Michael Chobanyan shared the news about the latest NBU’s request on July 3, citing a document distributed by the Ukrainian Telegram news channel “Politics of the country.”

*The National Bank of Ukraine’s document that was sent to local crypto exchanges. Source: Telegram*

According to the document, the NBU also demanded the crypto businesses to provide data on operating volumes as well as information about reception and transfer of funds. The NBU also requested the Ukrainian crypto firms to issue statements for all accounts from the beginning of 2023.

Kuna CEO Chobanyan subsequently confirmed the news on his own Telegram channel, hinting that the reasons for the latest action from the NBU are unclear.

“There is no such information in Ukraine and has never been,” Chobanyan argued, adding that searches taught him that back in 2015, before the launch of Kuna. He went on to say that that the direction of the “so called” government is clear, adding:

“Over the past two weeks, the first wave of searches in exchanges took place in Kiev and across Ukraine, which were triggered by the actions of the NBU, Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Security Service of Ukraine. [...] There will be more searches and exchanges.”

Chobanyan told Cointelegraph that Kuna exchange left its business-to-customer market in Ukraine in March 2023 due to “predatory actions” by the NBU.

“They are very consistent in killing the potential of my country in crypto and Web3 space,” Chobanyan said, noting that Kuna’s exchange volumes have shrunk 90% over the past few months. Previously, Kuna lost about 60% of its volumes when it had to leave the Russian market after Feb. 24, 2022, the CEO told Cointelegraph.

Despite Ukrainian authorities allegedly getting more hostile to the crypto industry, Chobanyan still sees some benefits in the recent action from the government.

“Now we focus on Europe and especially the b2b market,” he said, adding that Kuna recently launched the crypto acquiring service KunaPay. “I do not know whether it's related to the fear that we will launch this service in Ukraine or not,” Chobanyan said.

“I am grateful to the NBU for stimulating me being a successful European company rather than a niche Ukrainian player,” he added.

The NBU accepted Cointelegraph’s request for comment but did not immediately respond to it. This article will be updated pending new information.

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Ukraine