bribery

Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden are pressuring both parties regarding Tether's alleged bribery of U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.According to reports, Tether provided undisclosed loans to a trust fund benefiting Howard Lutnick's children, while Cantor Fitzgerald, where Howard Lutnick previously worked, was also Tether's reserve asset management agency. Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden also pointed out that the previously passed "Genius Act" benefited Tether, which had lobbied in support of the bill, suggesting potential quid pro quo.

Multiple independent sources have confirmed to Caixin that the founding partner and director of a law firm in Chongqing has recently been taken away by relevant authorities. This lawyer is Peng Jing, the founding partner and director of Chongqing Jingsheng Law Firm. There is speculation that she has numerous connections with the officials who have recently fallen from grace.According to analysts, lawyers from law firms are usually not taken away by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, "but Peng Jing has a very large network, and her case involves too many people." On March 20, 2026, Chongqing Mayor Hu Henghua was reported to be under investigation, and on April 17, Luo Lin, a member of the Chongqing Municipal Committee and secretary of the Liangjiang New Area Committee, was also announced to have fallen. Reports from the local political and business circles in Chongqing suggest that the downfall of Hu Henghua and Luo Lin is related to bribery and money laundering through stablecoins, and "Peng Jing may be a key figure, helping others launder money under the guise of collecting legal fees." Sources indicate that in the Hu Henghua case, Lin Kechuang, the son-in-law of Lin Xiucheng, gave Hu Henghua 30.8 million USDT (approximately 210 million yuan, of which 10 million was for exchange fees). After Hu Henghua was investigated, the cold wallet was controlled, and authorities traced the funds from six other cold wallets held by Lin Kechuang; among them, a transfer of 15.5 million USDT that occurred simultaneously with Hu Henghua's was claimed by Lin Kechuang to have been sent to Luo Lin. Luo Lin was taken away by relevant authorities on April 14, 2026, and his home was searched on the evening of April 15, but this cold wallet was not found. Subsequently, authorities found Luo Lin's cold wallet at a third party's home.

According to Decrypt, the National Anti-Corruption Center of Moldova (CNA) has disclosed a plan to influence the country's parliamentary elections in 2025 using cryptocurrency, involving an amount of $107 million.CNA Director Alexandr Pinzari stated that the plan involved "complex trading operations" through non-custodial cryptocurrency wallets, transferring virtual assets to intermediaries in Moldova, who would then convert them into cash and distribute them to local activists for bribing voters, promoting specific candidates, and mobilizing rally participants. The source of the funds can be traced back to two centralized cryptocurrency platforms in Russia and Kyrgyzstan.Blockchain analysis firm TRM Labs linked the activity to the "Russia-backed foreign influence operation InfoLider" and confirmed that the Kyrgyzstan cryptocurrency exchange TokenSpot is one of the sources of the transactions. TRM Labs had previously identified TokenSpot as a potential front company for the sanctioned Russian exchange Garantex, both of which are closely related to the "Kremlin-backed sanctions evasion ecosystem."

According to DL News, Russian prosecutors are seeking to confiscate a large amount of luxury assets belonging to fugitive secret service officer Georgy Satyukov. He is accused of receiving $184 million worth of Bitcoin and $30 million worth of Ethereum as bribes from the operator of the now-defunct WEX cryptocurrency exchange, while investigators have identified assets valued at $29.6 million related to Satyukov's alleged bribery.Prosecutors claim that Satyukov used the illicit funds to purchase 13 apartments in Russia, several non-residential properties in St. Petersburg, a villa in the UAE, and a million-dollar property in Saratov registered in his brother's name.Additionally, the investigation revealed that he owns two Porsche Cayenne Turbos, seven Patek Philippe watches, and other jewelry worth over $1.3 million, with more than $15 million in cash and foreign currency still in his family bank accounts.It is alleged that the bribes originated from Alexey Ivanov, a former system administrator of the WEX exchange, who sought Satyukov's help to evade a criminal investigation. Satyukov and his former colleague Dmitry Sokolov are currently fugitives, and a Moscow court is preparing to conduct a trial in absentia. If convicted, their assets may be nationalized. The WEX exchange took over the trading operations of BTC-e in 2017, which had shut down after its founder Alexander Vinnik was arrested in Greece on fraud and money laundering charges, and WEX also ceased operations in 2018.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cryptonews, Nigerian House of Representatives member Philip Agbese has filed a lawsuit against Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan in the Abuja Federal Capital Territory High Court, seeking 1 billion naira (approximately $667,000) in damages for defamation.The lawsuit stems from Gambaryan's claims on social media that Agbese and two other lawmakers attempted to solicit a $150 million cryptocurrency bribe. Agbese's camp stated that he has never owned a cryptocurrency account or engaged in digital currency transactions, demanding that Gambaryan publicly apologize in at least three national newspapers and delete all related social media posts.The Nigerian Minister of Information and National Orientation dismissed Gambaryan's allegations on February 14, stating that the claims lack credible evidence. The court has ordered Gambaryan to respond to the lawsuit within 8 days.Previous news, Binance executives reiterated that Nigerian lawmakers had solicited a $150 million bribe in exchange for dropping the lawsuit against Binance.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin stated on social media Thursday that political tokens could lead to "unlimited" bribery. Vitalik's comments are part of a broader discussion about trends in the cryptocurrency industry, especially in the context of political leaders like U.S. President Trump embracing cryptocurrencies. Vitalik pointed out that certain parts of the industry conflict with each other due to their short-term and long-term values, comparing them to "highly addictive mobile games" and chess.Vitalik wrote on X: "Over the past year, we are entering a new order, and now the most powerful people in the world are cheering for the idea of creating tokens for anything, on any scale, for anyone. Therefore, it is time to discuss the difference between the short-term 'sugar high' fun that is not recommended for newcomers and the long-term sense of achievement and wealth accumulation. This is not to say that 'fun is bad,' but rather the distinction between modern highly addictive mobile games and chess or World of Warcraft. It is time to discuss the fact that large-scale political tokens cross another line: they are not just a source of fun, whose harms are limited to the mistakes made by voluntary participants; they are tools for unlimited political bribery, including bribery from foreign governments."The two recently launched large-scale political tokens are TRUMP and MELANIA, both related to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump. These two tokens were launched before Trump took office as the 47th President of the United States on January 20 and soon experienced significant price drops.

ChainCatcher news, South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb announced that regarding the first-instance guilty verdict against former CEO Lee Sang-joon for misconduct related to listing coins, the company "will once again confirm the transparency and fairness of the trading review process and continue to make improvements."Bithumb stated that the two types of virtual assets mentioned in the trial have never been listed on Bithumb and confirmed that they have never been submitted to the coin listing review committee.Bithumb representatives emphasized: "The company's coin listing procedure is conducted through an independent coin listing review committee involving external experts, which is not a structure that specific personnel, including relevant executives and employees, can influence. The coin listing process maintains and strengthens fairness through a unified application channel on the official website and strict internal reviews."

According to ChainCatcher, Bloomberg reports that former Binance executive Amrita Srivastava has filed a whistleblower lawsuit in the UK for wrongful termination. During her time in London, Srivastava stated to the labor arbitration tribunal that she was unfairly dismissed after reporting an incident involving colleagues soliciting bribes from clients for preferential treatment.In response, Binance stated that the company was already aware of the matter and had initiated an internal investigation, and that the employee was terminated due to poor job performance, with the dismissal decision made prior to her whistleblowing. The case is currently being heard by the UK labor arbitration tribunal.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, former Binance executive Amrita Srivastava has filed a whistleblower lawsuit in the UK, accusing a colleague of soliciting bribes from clients to expedite service processes, and claiming she was unfairly dismissed for exposing the incident. Srivastava stated that the colleague charged clients under the guise of "consulting services," while falsely claiming to not be an employee of Binance.In response, Binance stated that the company was already aware of the matter and had launched an internal investigation, and that Srivastava was dismissed due to poor performance, with the termination decision made prior to her whistleblowing.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, the U.S. SEC stated on Monday that the cryptocurrency mining company BIT Mining Ltd. (formerly known as 500.com Limited) has agreed to pay a $4 million fine to settle the agency's allegations of bribing Japanese officials.The SEC pointed out that BIT Mining paid $2.5 million in cash bribes and gifts to Japanese lawmakers and others between 2017 and 2019 in an attempt to win bids for opening casino resorts in Japan.In a separate action, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it has reached an agreement with BIT Mining, where BIT Mining agrees to pay a $10 million criminal fine, of which $4 million will be paid to the U.S. SEC by the company.

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, former Russian investigator Marat Tambiyev was sentenced to 16 years in prison for accepting approximately $73 million in Bitcoin bribes during an investigation into organized crime. This amount exceeds five times the highest bribe amount in Russian history.Marat Tambiyev is accused of transferring half of the criminal gang's Bitcoin into his own wallet, leaving the other half for the criminals. Investigators found the Bitcoin wallet keys in a folder on his laptop named "Pension."Marat Tambiyev insisted on his innocence in court, arguing that his actions helped the state recover part of the criminal gang's proceeds. According to Russian state media, he plans to appeal this verdict. Currently, one-third of the Bitcoin stored on Marat Tambiyev's computer has been recovered, while the whereabouts of the remaining portion remain unclear.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the complaint released by the FBI shows that Adam Iza, the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange platform Zort, is suspected of paying up to $280,000 per month in bribes to three officers of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) to illegally obtain search warrants and sensitive police data.The FBI investigation revealed that Iza used this illegally obtained information to extort and harass a victim codenamed E.Z., attempting to gain access to their laptop used for storing cryptocurrency. Case details disclosed that Iza had attempted to kidnap E.Z. and intimidated the victim by sending personal information from the police database.Additionally, the complaint also accuses Iza of concealing tens of millions of dollars in income and failing to pay income taxes between 2020 and 2022. The FBI stated that Iza paid bribes to officers through his company Zort and other affiliated entities, with individual payments sometimes approaching $200,000. Iza has now been charged with conspiracy to violate rights and tax evasion.

ChainCatcher news, U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (Democrat) from New Jersey was found guilty by a jury on Tuesday of accepting bribes, including gold bars and luxury cars, in exchange for his political influence. It is reported that Menendez is a staunch critic of cryptocurrency, having claimed that Bitcoin is the ideal choice for criminals.Menendez is also a co-sponsor of the "Accountability for Cryptocurrency in El Salvador (ACES) Act," which requires the U.S. State Department to report on the risks to the U.S. financial system posed by El Salvador's adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender.

ChainCatcher news, according to Digital Asset, the South Korean Supreme Court upheld the verdict against two former Coinone executives who accepted bribes for listing certain cryptocurrencies on the exchange.On June 13, the court dismissed an appeal from one former executive who was sentenced to receive approximately 1.9 billion won (1.38 million USD) in bribes for listing certain virtual assets on Coinone. The executive will serve four years in prison and must forfeit the 1.9 billion won in bribe money received. Similarly, the court rejected the appeal of another former manager responsible for listings at Coinone. This individual was sentenced to receive 800 million won in bribes and was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. The manager must also return the 800 million won obtained through bribery.

ChainCatcher news, LayerZero CEO Bryan Pellegrino responded on social media to the issue of bribery concerning the reported witch address. Pellegrino strongly advised the reporter not to alter the report, stating that the team possesses the original records from GitHub and Commonwealth, and editing or deleting the witch clusters could jeopardize the entire bounty.Previously, witch hunter @SybilHorror6 stated that after his report was made public, an anonymous individual contacted him and was willing to bribe him $12,000 to clear 3 clusters totaling 172 wallet addresses.