December 2023 - cypherpunks - lists.cpunks.org

Nexo Co-Founder Considers Suing Bulgaria for $1 Billion
by Gunnar Larson 17 Dec '23

17 Dec '23

Trenchev claimed that the state’s actions were not only illegal, but caused significant harm to his company’s reputation. Nexo itself also implied that its entanglement with the law had corruption at its core, shortly after the raid. “Some regulators have recently adopted the kick first, ask questions later approach,” stated Nexo. “In corrupt countries, it is bordering with racketeering, but that too shall pass.” ---- https://cryptoadventure.com/nexo-co-founder-considers-suing-bulgaria-for-1-… Nexo co-founder Antoni Trenchev said his company may sue the Bulgarian government for $1 billion following a raid on Nexo’s offices earlier this month. Trenchev claimed that the state’s actions were not only illegal, but caused significant harm to his company’s reputation. Repairing a Damaged Reputation During an interview with Nova TV, Trenchev called claims that his company is involved in money laundering and terrorist financing operations ”absurd.” “We, as an institution, monitor all incoming and outgoing transactions on our platform in real-time,” he explained. Nexo put out a similar statement on the situation weeks ago, claiming to possess over 30 AML compliance officers monitoring OFAC sanctions lists sidebar image Ellipal - Store over 10,000 coins and tokens! Such claims were grounds for the government’s raid on Nexo’s offices on January 12. News of the raid was shortly followed by an influx of withdrawal requests from its platform, during a period marred by widespread turbulence and uncertainty for the crypto lending industry in general. “Our consultants estimate the damages at over 1 billion dollars,” said Trenchev. “We were in the process of listing on the American stock exchange and now it has to be postponed because of the reputational damage that was done to us.” Specifically, Bulgaria accused Nexo of having served multiple wanted criminals. Transactions surrounding one of them – Mahmoud Mohammed – with which the prosecutors’ office took concern were made two years before Mohammed was on the Israeli services’ list., according to Trenchev. Political Corruption Ultimately, the co-founder believes that Nexo’s debacle with the prosecutors’ office is politically motivated. The latter’s raid on Nexo’s office took place just one day before President Rumen Radev was to give his final mandate forming an acting government. While some expected that mandate to go to Democratic Bulgaria (DB), it ultimately went to the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP). The former party was known for having received donations from over 12 Nexo members. “It was an opportune moment to resoundingly attack parties like PP and DB and to sabotage the third mandate,” said Trenchev about the prosecutors’ move. Nexo itself also implied that its entanglement with the law had corruption at its core, shortly after the raid. “Some regulators have recently adopted the kick first, ask questions later approach,” stated Nexo. “In corrupt countries, it is bordering with racketeering, but that too shall pass.”

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Crypto Lender Nexo’s Co-Founder Disputes Bulgaria Charges After Raid
by Gunnar Larson 17 Dec '23

17 Dec '23

Crypto Lender Nexo’s Co-Founder Disputes Bulgaria Charges After Raid https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-21/crypto-firm-nexo-co-foun… Nexo co-founder Antoni Trenchev disputed charges by Bulgarian police after they raided the crypto lender’s Sofia office last month as part of an investigation into suspected money laundering and tax crimes.

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Musk Adds to Goldman Sachs’ Commercial Loan Troubles, FT Says
by Gunnar Larson 17 Dec '23

17 Dec '23

Musk Adds to Goldman Sachs’ Commercial Loan Troubles, FT Says https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-10/musk-adds-to-goldman-sac… Elon Musk’s refusal to pay Twitter’s rent contributed to the surge in commercial real estate loan delinquencies that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) faced in the first quarter, the Financial Times reported.

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Hong Kong Bankers’ Uneasy Dance With Property Tycoons
by Gunnar Larson 17 Dec '23

17 Dec '23

Hong Kong Bankers’ Uneasy Dance With Property Tycoons https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-12-17/hong-kong-25-billion-… Hong Kong dazzles with its soaring skyscrapers and swanky shopping malls, and the city has its bankers to thank. Over the years, landlords routinely relied on banks to finance ambitious projects and expected good relationships to remain. But lenders are getting nervous.

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World Bank warns record debt levels could put developing countries in crisis | World Bank | The Guardian
by Gunnar Larson 17 Dec '23

17 Dec '23

At Bank.org, I have threatened creating World.Bank.org, but I have been told that WorldBank.org may sue us out of Hong Kong if we do that. Anyhow, at Bank.org we are proud that over the next 20 years, really exciting innovation will happen in New York City. ----- https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/13/world-bank-debt-levels-cou… Urgent action is needed to prevent record debt repayments by the world’s poorest countries developing into a full-blown crisis, the World Bank has warned. The Washington-based multilateral body said the escalating cost of servicing past borrowing caused by rising interest rates was siphoning money away from spending on health, education and tackling the climate crisis. The Bank sounded the alarm in its latest International Debt Report, which showed the sharpest rise in global borrowing costs in four decades had pushed payments on the external debts of all developing countries to $443.5bn in 2022.

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The Silk Road Investigation: A 'Pattern of Bad Behavior and Double Agents' – Bitcoin News
by Gunnar Larson 17 Dec '23

17 Dec '23

Whete is Kathryn Haun when you need her on NYCCoin? ..... https://news.bitcoin.com/the-silk-road-investigation-a-pattern-of-bad-behav… by Jamie Redman Oct 22, 2019 The Silk Road Investigation: A 'Pattern of Bad Behavior and Double Agents' The Silk Road Investigation: A 'Pattern of Bad Behavior and Double Agents' Kathryn Haun, a general partner at U.S. venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, has revealed in recent interviews how she helped take down the Silk Road when she was working for the Attorney General’s office. According to her accounts, the U.S. government agency also asked her to help “start shutting down technology before it’s built.” Haun’s story also highlights how the U.S. government’s evidence against the Silk Road transpired because of double agents. Also read: FBI Agent Admits to Stealing Silk Road Bitcoins Seized by U.S. Marshals Kathryn Haun Was Asked to Disrupt Bitcoin in 2012 During the last few years, governments worldwide have been cracking down on digital assets like on and off-ramps that are tied to fiat. Regulations are far stricter than they were in the early days, when governments first heard about cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. Andreessen Horowitz general partner Kathryn Haun has a lot of experience working with government agencies when it comes to the cryptocurrency economy. She witnessed the takedown of the Silk Road darknet marketplace and before she started she was even asked to help dismantle the Bitcoin network. During an interview with CNBC, Haun revealed how a colleague mentioned the up and coming technology to her in 2012. “‘We have this perfect assignment for you – there’s this thing called Bitcoin and we need to investigate it,'” Haun told the news outlet on October 6. “That was the first time I’d ever heard of bitcoin,” she added. The Silk Road Investigation: A 'Pattern of Bad Behavior and Double Agents' Former Silk Road investigator Kathryn Haun. Attempts to shut down Bitcoin by agencies such as the U.S. Department of Justice were fruitless ventures, Haun detailed. “It would have been akin to saying ‘let’s go prosecute cash,'” the former prosecutor said. “What we heard with Libra were the same criticisms [about Bitcoin],” Haun remarked. While discussing the similarities between her early days with Bitcoin in contrast to Libra, she continued: They got more attention because of the high-profile nature of the project and the fact that Facebook was involved. I think it would be a really dangerous thing, and frankly a dangerous precedent to start shutting down technology before it’s built. Uncovering the Silk Road and Parallel Investigations During another recently published interview with Haun, the Andreesen Horowitz partner spoke with Hayman Capital founder Kyle Bass about her role during the prosecution of the Silk Road marketplace. “The Silk Road was making millions of dollars a month and they were generating a lot of revenue,” Haun stressed. She doesn’t remember exactly how the Silk Road case got opened in New York, but she recalls Senator Chuck Schumer read a Wired article that prompted him to wonder why the marketplace was allowed to exist. “So the Southern District of New York, which is another Attorney General’s office – I was in the U.S. Attorney General’s office in San Francisco – SDNY opened the case and was trying to figure out who was behind the Silk Road. At this same time, a D.C. office was also trying to figure out who was running the Silk Road — And there were parallel investigations going.” The Silk Road Investigation: A 'Pattern of Bad Behavior and Double Agents' Haun discusses the Silk Road investigation with Hayman Capital founder Kyle Bass. Haun explained that the government had task forces comprised of many alphabet soup agencies: “We’re talking the FBI, CIA, Secret Service, DEA, ATF, and the U.S. Marshals,” she underlined. “One task force, the one out of Washington D.C., they had an undercover agent. That undercover agent was able to befriend the person running the Silk Road. All the government knew at the time was that the person running the Silk Road went by the nickname ‘DPR’ for ‘Dread Pirate Roberts’ from the movie ‘The Princess Bride.’ So they didn’t know who DPR was, but the undercover agent actually set up an attempt to buy the Silk Road.” The Foundation of Evidence from the Silk Road Case Stemmed from Double Agents According to the former prosecutor, the undercover agent struck many online conversations with DPR and proceeded for the next two years to engage and message with the moniker. “A lot of things went wrong on both sides — From the Silk Road side, 2013 was a really bad year for the Silk Road because what you had was a person who had an online persona called ‘Death from Above,’” Haun said. “Death from Above starting extorting DPR and saying ‘if you don’t pay me hundreds of thousands of dollars in bitcoin I’m going to reveal your identity to law enforcement.’ Meanwhile, there was another online persona who went by the moniker ‘French Maid.’ French Maid was selling DPR information about the government’s investigation. French Maid told DPR the Feds are closing in and the end is near and you are about to be had.” Haun added: The government didn’t know any of this then and it all came out after the fact. In the midst of this, something else really bad happened in 2013 — About 21,000 bitcoins, which is today in excess of roughly $150 million dollars, went missing overnight from the Silk Road. From Silk Road vendor accounts and from what you might consider the petty cash account — Although there’s nothing petty about 21,000 bitcoins. The Silk Road Investigation: A 'Pattern of Bad Behavior and Double Agents' Haun’s story begs the question: How much evidence would the government have without the use of double agents and rogue officers manipulating the investigation? During the remainder of the interview, Haun discussed Curtis Green’s role with the Silk Road and said Green showed the Feds “how the Silk Road worked, how to log into it, how to reset vendor PINs and passwords, and of course [Green] had that access because he was the key administrator.” Haun also said Green even gave his laptop to the Feds to keep as evidence. The discussion with Kyle Bass shows how government agents claim to have dismantled the Silk Road from the words of a former Federal prosecutor. However, Haun wasn’t involved with the DPR takedown first hand, but she was very much involved with investigating rogue agents. At first, when she heard about the first rogue agent she took it with “a grain of salt” and actually said it was a shame the tipster was smearing a Federal agent’s good name. But the tipster was insistent and she decided to look into it. “We saw that this agent who we got the tip for was liquidating hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions a month, in cryptocurrency. So I thought it’s probably another undercover operation and there’s probably a legitimate explanation,” Haun explained. The Silk Road Investigation: A 'Pattern of Bad Behavior and Double Agents' >From left to right — Carl Mark Force, Shaun Bridges, and Curtis Green all played a ‘double agent’ role in the Silk Road investigation. Curtis Green was a Silk Road moderator who was told by the U.S. government to fake his own death. Haun concluded that the rogue agent was caught telling exchanges to destroy transaction histories. Because undercover agents who are running undercover operations shouldn’t be asking for evidence to be destroyed, it raised a red flag Haun said. Her team found a “pattern of really bad behavior to put it mildly” and in the end, it turned out the rogue agent was both online personas: French Maid and Death from Above. Essentially, the interview with Haun shows that Curtis Green, Shaun Bridges, and Carl Mark Force were acting as double agents during the entire investigation. The discussion with Haun further highlights how the Silk Road case was quite messy and many constitutional laws were broken by rogue agents in order to disrupt the site. Still, the U.S. government, with no thought toward constitutional law and a complete disregard for true justice, based all their Silk Road evidence on the shameful ethics of Curtis Green and two rogue cops — Carl Mark Force and Shaun Bridges. It goes to show that the many unanswered questions surrounding the case, like how government agents found the Silk Road’s IP address, which wasn’t due to a faulty ‘captcha’ screen as claimed, were likely due to perfidious agents gone rogue.

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Like Japan, Italy faces existential threat if citizens don’t have more children: Elon Musk | South China Morning Post
by Gunnar Larson 17 Dec '23

17 Dec '23

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3245395/japan-italy-faces-ex… “My advice to all government leaders and people is make sure you have children to create a new generation,” he said, “or the culture of Italy, Japan and France will disappear.” “We are in danger of no longer having these countries,” Musk, who has previously said he viewed “population collapse due to low birth rates” as more dangerous than global warming, added.

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Top DeSantis Strategist Quits Group Backing His Presidential Bid
by Gunnar Larson 17 Dec '23

17 Dec '23

Top DeSantis Strategist Quits Group Backing His Presidential Bid https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-17/top-desantis-strategist-… Longtime Republican strategist Jeff Roe resigned from the super political action committee supporting Ron DeSantis’ presidential bid, the latest personnel shakeup in the Florida governor’s operation just weeks before 2024 voting begins.

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Harvard inflates wood ...
by Gunnar Larson 17 Dec '23

17 Dec '23

" ... When recommendations by some consultants and the allocation of TIMBER by Harvard University’s endowment led to broad interest in the asset. Timber funds were launched with the understanding that they provided diversification and enhanced returns. Our analysis showed that timber did not add any value to our clients’ portfolios, and we recommended against investing in timber funds." -Goldman Sachs Investment Group (June 2021): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yEQupX1a7VS4K6N018Y0SF_0v4lpJWz8/view?usp=… -- *Gunnar Larson - xNY.io <http://www.xNY.io> | Bank.org <http://Bank.org>* MSc <https://www.unic.ac.cy/blockchain/msc-digital-currency/?utm_source=Google&u…> - Digital Currency MBA <https://www.unic.ac.cy/business-administration-entrepreneurship-and-innovat…> - Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ip) G(a)xNY.io +1-646-454-9107 New York, New York 10001

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Trump Says He’d Go After University Tax Breaks If Elected Again
by Gunnar Larson 17 Dec '23

17 Dec '23

Trump Says He’d Go After University Tax Breaks If Elected Again https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-16/trump-says-he-d-go-after… Former President Donald Trump said he’d end tax exemptions for universities deemed to be left-leaning if voters return him to the White House, pointing to the uproar over campus antisemitism that engulfed three college presidents in recent weeks.

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