Fiscal & Legal

Coinbase is investigating over unusual trading activity after launch of Bitcoin cash

Coinbase, one of the largest online exchanges for buying and selling cryptocurrencies, is investigating possible insider trading after the price of a Bitcoin offshoot called Bitcoin Cash climbed hours before Coinbase announced support.

Due to its stature in the industry, a cryptocurrency trading on Coinbase-as opposed to smaller exchanges-is seen as a stamp of legitimacy. When Coinbase announced unceremoniously on Tuesday that it would allow trading for Bitcoin Cash, a controversial clone of Bitcoin with some small differences, the digital currency’s value skyrocketed from just under $3,000 per coin to above $6,000.

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Swiss watchdogs discovered shortcomings at JPMorgan over 1MDB scandal

Swiss financial watchdog FINMA said on Thursday the Swiss subsidiary of U.S. bank JPMorgan had committed serious anti-money laundering breaches in relation to Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, Reuters reported.

The case adds to the political storm that has raged for more than two years over the scandal at 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), the focus of money-laundering investigations in at least six countries including Singapore, Switzerland and the United States.

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Former BSI manager arrested in Brazil for laundering bribe case

Federal prosecutors on Tuesday charged a Spanish-Swiss banker with laundering $21.7 million in graft money for Brazilian clients involved in the country’s largest corruption scandal, including jailed former lower house speaker Eduardo Cunha, Reuters reported.

The former relationship manager of Zurich-based BSI bank, was arrested at Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos airport as he got off a flight from Switzerland on Nov. 27 and is being held in Curitiba, the centre of the so-called Car Wash investigation.

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Uber is a transportation service, EU top court ruled

The European Union’s top court has ruled that Uber should be regulated like a transportation service. That means the ride-sharing service must comply with tough rules that govern traditional taxi associations. Uber had argued that it’s a technology platform that connects independent drivers with passengers. The landmark ruling will require Uber to treat its drivers more like employees. The decision cannot be appealed.

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1MDB scandal is not over: Singapore bans two more people involved in the case

Singapore banned two more financial professionals over breaches related to 1Malaysia Development Bhd., taking to eight the number of prohibitions handed down by the city in connection with the troubled state investment fund, Blooomberg reported on Tuesday.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore issued a lifetime prohibition order on former private banker Yeo Jiawei and placed a three-year ban on Kevin Scully, the former chief executive officer of NRA Capital Pte, it said Tuesday.

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EU Commission to launch tax investigation over IKEA

An investigation by Brussels is to be launched today into Ikea’s Dutch tax arrangements. The Financial Times is reporting that Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition commissioner, will today announce an official probe into Ikea’s tax arrangements in the Netherlands, which according to a report published by the Green Party in the European Parliament, allegedly have helped Ikea avoid nearly €1bn in EU taxes between 2009 to 2014.

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Woman jailed in Denmark for Bitcoin murder plot

A woman from Italy who ordered her boyfriend’s murder via a website and paid a hitman in the digital currency bitcoin was sentenced to six years in a Danish jail on Friday.

The Italian woman, who has remained unnamed, hired the hitman on a site called Crime Bay. She wanted the hitman to murder her boyfriend, so she sent the hitman a photograph of the intended victim along with his address. She insisted that the hitman use a silencer and that he succeed in killing the victim on the first attempt.

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Facebook plans to restructure tax structure

Facebook has become one of the first large technology companies to shake up its tax structure and book less of its revenue in Ireland, as multinationals come under pressure to pay tax in the countries where they operate.

From January 1st, Facebook will begin the process of booking revenues from large advertisers in about 28 countries – including France and Germany and other major European markets – in the countries in which they were earned. It will also pay the taxes on those revenues in those countries, and not in Ireland.

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