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Yield products without a banking license, "proof that a Nexo client [...] was a person officially designated as financing terrorism". You'd think crypto exchan

Yield products without a banking license, "proof that a Nexo client [...] was a person officially designated as financing terrorism". You'd think crypto exchanges would be more cautious, given the controversial nature of their business.

pjc50 4y ago
The whole business is full of one-way bets where you either escape with the money or go bankrupt/get arrested. I think they may have assumed that law enforcement in Bulgaria was not sophisticated enough to be interested in them.
- phoronixrly 4y ago
  > I think they may have assumed that law enforcement in Bulgaria was not sophisticated enough to be interested in them. It's not. This was an international op or with foreign intelligence tips/pressure to act. BG law enforcement was at best oblivious, at worst -- on payroll.
323 4y ago
> A report by public broadcaster Bulgarian National Television earlier in the day claimed that the investigation was also looking into breaches of international sanctions imposed on Russia. There are a lot of Russians which use Bulgaria as an EU base. The infamous BTC-e exchange was also in Bulgaria and operated by Russians, and engaged in wide-scale money laundering.
- sofixa 4y ago
  In this case it's reportedly only Bulgarians: > Mileva said that the people under investigation were Bulgarian nationals and the company, which she repeatedly described as a “cryptobank”, was operating primarily from Bulgaria. However there are lots of very pro-Russia Bulgarians (hard to explain after everything that has happened, but still..), so your point generally stands.
  - dollylambda 4y ago
    > However there are lots of very pro-Russia Bulgarians (hard to explain after everything that has happened, but still..), Here is an excerpt from wiki which explains why some in Bulgaria are still "pro-russia": "The Western European Enlightenment in the 18th century influenced the initiation of a national awakening of Bulgaria.[63] It restored national consciousness and provided an ideological basis for the liberation struggle, resulting in the 1876 April Uprising. Up to 30,000 Bulgarians were killed as Ottoman authorities put down the rebellion. The massacres prompted the Great Powers to take action.[73] They convened the Constantinople Conference in 1876, but their decisions were rejected by the Ottomans. This allowed the Russian Empire to seek a military solution without risking confrontation with other Great Powers, as had happened in the Crimean War.[73] In 1877, Russia declared war on the Ottomans and defeated them with the help of Bulgarian rebels, particularly during the crucial Battle of Shipka Pass which secured Russian control over the main road to Constantinople"
    - lotsofpulp 4y ago
      I do not see why a Bulgarian today would assume Russia’s actions in 1877 have any relation to what Russia might do or be capable of in 2023.
      - deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
      - bluetomcat 4y ago
        It's an irrational love-hate relationship which is essential to the history of the modern Bulgarian state and creates the internal political divisions between "rusophiles" and "rusophobes". As a young nation (in modern terms) that has never been through the Enlightenment, we don't have our own political and intellectual traditions, and much of politics is perceived as orbiting around a superpower, be it Russia, continental Europe, or the USA.
    - gostsamo 4y ago
      Your answer is only part of the truth. Though Russia had lots of welwishers in Bulgaria, the heavy indoctrination happened during the communist rule 1945-1989. Many people whose best years were during this period are still alive and many are disappointed by the failures of the post 1989 governments. The topic is complex and filled in with lots of propaganda, so I won't get into disputes, just giving additional context.
aliqot 4y ago
You'd think exchanges would stop being centralized and manned operations with addresses.
bigbillheck 4y ago
> You'd think crypto exchanges would be more cautious Only if you haven't learned anything from the history of crypto exchanges going at least as far back as MTGOX.

pjc50 4y ago

The whole business is full of one-way bets where you either escape with the money or go bankrupt/get arrested. I think they may have assumed that law enforcement in Bulgaria was not sophisticated enough to be interested in them.

phoronixrly 4y ago
> I think they may have assumed that law enforcement in Bulgaria was not sophisticated enough to be interested in them. It's not. This was an international op or with foreign intelligence tips/pressure to act. BG law enforcement was at best oblivious, at worst -- on payroll.

323 4y ago

> A report by public broadcaster Bulgarian National Television earlier in the day claimed that the investigation was also looking into breaches of international sanctions imposed on Russia. There are a lot of Russians which use Bulgaria as an EU base. The infamous BTC-e exchange was also in Bulgaria and operated by Russians, and engaged in wide-scale money laundering.

sofixa 4y ago
In this case it's reportedly only Bulgarians: > Mileva said that the people under investigation were Bulgarian nationals and the company, which she repeatedly described as a “cryptobank”, was operating primarily from Bulgaria. However there are lots of very pro-Russia Bulgarians (hard to explain after everything that has happened, but still..), so your point generally stands.
- dollylambda 4y ago
  > However there are lots of very pro-Russia Bulgarians (hard to explain after everything that has happened, but still..), Here is an excerpt from wiki which explains why some in Bulgaria are still "pro-russia": "The Western European Enlightenment in the 18th century influenced the initiation of a national awakening of Bulgaria.[63] It restored national consciousness and provided an ideological basis for the liberation struggle, resulting in the 1876 April Uprising. Up to 30,000 Bulgarians were killed as Ottoman authorities put down the rebellion. The massacres prompted the Great Powers to take action.[73] They convened the Constantinople Conference in 1876, but their decisions were rejected by the Ottomans. This allowed the Russian Empire to seek a military solution without risking confrontation with other Great Powers, as had happened in the Crimean War.[73] In 1877, Russia declared war on the Ottomans and defeated them with the help of Bulgarian rebels, particularly during the crucial Battle of Shipka Pass which secured Russian control over the main road to Constantinople"
  - lotsofpulp 4y ago
    I do not see why a Bulgarian today would assume Russia’s actions in 1877 have any relation to what Russia might do or be capable of in 2023.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - bluetomcat 4y ago
      It's an irrational love-hate relationship which is essential to the history of the modern Bulgarian state and creates the internal political divisions between "rusophiles" and "rusophobes". As a young nation (in modern terms) that has never been through the Enlightenment, we don't have our own political and intellectual traditions, and much of politics is perceived as orbiting around a superpower, be it Russia, continental Europe, or the USA.
  - gostsamo 4y ago
    Your answer is only part of the truth. Though Russia had lots of welwishers in Bulgaria, the heavy indoctrination happened during the communist rule 1945-1989. Many people whose best years were during this period are still alive and many are disappointed by the failures of the post 1989 governments. The topic is complex and filled in with lots of propaganda, so I won't get into disputes, just giving additional context.

aliqot 4y ago

You'd think exchanges would stop being centralized and manned operations with addresses.

bigbillheck 4y ago

> You'd think crypto exchanges would be more cautious Only if you haven't learned anything from the history of crypto exchanges going at least as far back as MTGOX.