Pardons, Commutations and Dropped Prosecutions Catch-All

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Justice Department Scales Back Crypto Enforcement​

A new policy may wipe out prosecutions aimed at crypto’s use in money laundering and sanctions evasions​


“The Justice Department is scaling back prosecutors’ ability to bring criminal charges against cryptocurrency firms, in a move that could disrupt several ongoing cases and investigations.

The department will no longer bring charges against exchanges, dealers, mixing services and wallet providers “for the acts of their end users,” according to a memorandum issued late Monday by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

Prosecutors have sometimes charged crypto startups whose services were used by money launderers or people in countries subject to U.S. sanctions such as Iran.

… Now, prosecutors aren’t allowed in most cases to charge violations of anti-money-laundering laws and other statutes that equate cryptocurrency products with securities or financial derivatives. Blanche’s memo said that step is being taken “in recognition of” its view that enforcers during the Biden era subjected the industry to an unfair level of oversight. …”
 
www.thedailybeast.com

DOJ Wants to Give Capitol Rioters a Refund for Damage They Caused

Court documents filed this week suggest some insurrectionists could receive a check for their troubles.
www.thedailybeast.com www.thedailybeast.com

“… Because Hager’s case was indeed under appeal at the time he was pardoned, his conviction was technically “invalidated” by President Trump’s sweeping amnesty, and therefore the government “agrees” that Hager “is entitled to reimbursement of those payments,” wrote Dreher.

While the assistant attorney stressed any grounds for refunds wouldn’t apply to all pardoned rioters, his motion nevertheless comes amid growing signs Trump is warming to the idea of compensating those convicted for participating in the attack.

During an interview with Newsmax earlier in March, the president said there had already been talk about some sort of compensation fund to cover “lost opportunities” and “lost income” as a result of legal proceedings related to the insurrection.

“We have a lot of people, a lot of the people that are in government now talk about it because [we] really like that group of people,” Trump said. “They were patriots as far as I was concerned.” …”
 

Trump Administration Retreats From White-Collar Criminal Enforcement​

Justice Department backs away from some cases involving foreign bribery, money laundering and crypto markets; defense lawyers brace for slowdown​


🎁 🔗 —> https://www.wsj.com/finance/regulat...6d?st=jbkJoY&reflink=mobilewebshare_permalink

“… Trump’s executive order in February said bribery prosecutions hurt the ability of American companies to compete overseas, punishing them for practices that are routine in some parts of the world. That pronouncement could upend dozens of cases and investigations.

… A few themes are emerging: Prosecuting executives for wrongdoing that doesn’t have obvious victims is out. The Justice Department is open to arguments that a defendant has been targeted for political reasons, or that some prosecutions undermine economic competitiveness and national-security interests. And political connections within Trump’s world seem to matter.

… Lawyers for Polymarket, the crypto-fueled online prediction market that forecast Trump’s November win, are seeking an end to an investigation that began last year, according to people familiar with the matter. Defense contractor Boeing has sought the Justice Department’s consent to back out of a proposed guilty plea related to two deadly crashes of 737 MAX jets. The plea, reached at the end of the Biden administration, would require it to hire a compliance monitor for three years.

…
Glencore, a Switzerland-based commodity trading giant that pleaded guilty in 2022 to charges of overseas bribery and market manipulation, got the Justice Department’s support this year to end the work of two compliance monitors, which had cost the company $140 million.

Part of Glencore’s argument: It is an important supplier to the U.S. of cobalt, a rare-earth mineral used in jet fighters, munitions, drones and electric-vehicle batteries. Chinese and American companies are in a race to source cobalt, and Trump signed an executive order seeking to make the U.S. “the leading producer and processor of non-fuel minerals.” …
 
nycfan said:
Glencore, a Switzerland-based commodity trading giant that pleaded guilty in 2022 to charges of overseas bribery and market manipulation, got the Justice Department’s support this year to end the work of two compliance monitors, which had cost the company $140 million.
Click to expand...
Glencore was heavily involved in the completely corrupt Rosneft public offering and probably pocketed some of the laundered cash (by my reckoning there was $2B in the transaction unaccounted for, and it probably flowed through Qatar to a Cayman Islands fund (routed through Malaysia IIRC).

Glencore also has -- or had, at least -- close ties to Erik Prince.
 
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