US Treasury Sanctions Cambodian Tycoon Over Crypto Fraud and Trafficking Links

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has imposed sanctions on Cambodian tycoon Ly Yong Phat and his businesses, linking them to human trafficking and forced labor scams involving cryptocurrency fraud. Victims were manipulated into online scam centers, and trafficked workers were forced into labor for these schemes. The sanctions freeze U.S.-based assets and prohibit transactions, … Read more

Latam Insights Encore: The Venezuelan Perfect Storm Highlights Bitcoin’s Key Use Case

Welcome to Latam Insights Encore, a deep dive into Latin America’s most relevant economic and cryptocurrency-based news from last week. In this edition, we discuss how bitcoin is being leveraged by both the opposition and the government in Venezuela, highlighting one of its most significant traits: uncensorability. Latam Insights Encore: Venezuelan Situation Shows Bitcoin’s Utility … Read more

Latam Insights: Bukele Slashes Import Duties in El Salvador, Argentina Enacts Crypto Tax Normalization

Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of Latin America’s most relevant crypto and economic news during the last week. In this issue: President Nayib Bukele eliminated import taxes for basic products for a decade in El Salvador, Argentina defined rules for regularizing cryptocurrency assets, and OFAC sanctioned the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. President Bukele … Read more

Venezuelan Crime Organization Tren De Aragua Gets Sanctioned by OFAC on Crypto Money Laundering Allegations

Tren de Aragua (Aragua’s Train), a criminal gang with Venezuelan origins, has been sanctioned by OFAC as a transnational organization engaging in kidnapping, human trafficking, extortion, and other illegal behavior. The U.S. Department of the Treasury also stated that the organization had used cryptocurrency to launder the proceedings of their activities to some extent. OFAC … Read more

De-Risking or Decoupling? China- US Bilateral Trade Falls More Than 10% This Year

Analysts have criticized the new ‘de-risking’ strategy that the U.S. is currently using against China, explained by U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in April, clarifying that national security was over economic costs. These de-risking policies might affect bilateral trade, which fell by 11.2% to $217.9 billion during the first four months of 2023. ‘De-Risking’ … Read more

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Explains ‘Multipolar’ World View in Brazil

Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, started his tour of Latin America on April 17, landing first in Brasilia to hold high-level talks with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio ‘Lula’ da Silva and Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira. Lavrov insisted that Russia was building a “multipolar” world, while Vieira rejected the unilateral sanctions enacted against Russia. … Read more