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> I don't see how you could argue the service itself was Regular banking has piles and piles of AML/KYC regulation that they need to follow in order to not be

> I don't see how you could argue the service itself was Regular banking has piles and piles of AML/KYC regulation that they need to follow in order to not become guilty of money laundering, or aiding money laundering. Are you saying Bitcoin Fog followed all this regulation, or are you saying Bitcoin Fog can unilaterally can declare itself exempt from AML/KYC laws? Sorry if this sounds like a confrontational question. I don't mean it to be. Just intend for it to be a clear question.

Ajedi32 3y ago
There's a separate U.S. code for that which is not related to money laundering. The affidavit[1] another user linked accused the defendant of violating 18 U.S. Code § 1960[2], and D.C. Code § 26-1023[3] in addition to the money laundering law previously linked. Those two laws make it illegal for businesses to transmit money without requesting all sorts of private information from their customers, and providing that information to the government under some circumstances. In other words, under current U.S. law, yes, privacy is indeed a crime. [1]: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.230456/gov.uscourts.dcd.230456.1.1_1.pdf https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.230... [2]: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1960 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1960 [3]: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/titles/26/chapters/10 https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/titles/26/chap...
- internet101010 3y ago
  This might sound like a dumb question but wouldn't that require bitcoin to be classified as money rather than a commodity?
  - Ajedi32 3y ago
    I'm not a lawyer, but yeah it certainly does seem that way based on how the law is worded. I wonder if Sterlingov's lawyers tried that argument in court.
  - banannaise 3y ago
    No. You can launder money using anything that works as a transferable, divisible store of value. You just have to be able to break it down into smaller pieces and exchange the "dirty" pieces for "clean" ones. The bitcoin is just the vehicle for the laundering, and the mixer is basically just a money laundering machine. (You can use it to exchange clean assets for other clean assets, but if you start with dirty ones, you're money laundering.)
    - Ajedi32 3y ago
      18 U.S. Code § 1960 isn't about money laundering though, it's about "unlicensed money transmitting businesses".

Ajedi32 3y ago

There's a separate U.S. code for that which is not related to money laundering. The affidavit[1] another user linked accused the defendant of violating 18 U.S. Code § 1960[2], and D.C. Code § 26-1023[3] in addition to the money laundering law previously linked. Those two laws make it illegal for businesses to transmit money without requesting all sorts of private information from their customers, and providing that information to the government under some circumstances. In other words, under current U.S. law, yes, privacy is indeed a crime. [1]: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.230456/gov.uscourts.dcd.230456.1.1_1.pdf https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.230... [2]: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1960 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1960 [3]: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/titles/26/chapters/10 https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/titles/26/chap...

internet101010 3y ago
This might sound like a dumb question but wouldn't that require bitcoin to be classified as money rather than a commodity?
- Ajedi32 3y ago
  I'm not a lawyer, but yeah it certainly does seem that way based on how the law is worded. I wonder if Sterlingov's lawyers tried that argument in court.
- banannaise 3y ago
  No. You can launder money using anything that works as a transferable, divisible store of value. You just have to be able to break it down into smaller pieces and exchange the "dirty" pieces for "clean" ones. The bitcoin is just the vehicle for the laundering, and the mixer is basically just a money laundering machine. (You can use it to exchange clean assets for other clean assets, but if you start with dirty ones, you're money laundering.)
  - Ajedi32 3y ago
    18 U.S. Code § 1960 isn't about money laundering though, it's about "unlicensed money transmitting businesses".