On Jan. 7, Anatoly Legkodymov, founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato, was arrested in Miami. The following day, the U.S. DOJ unsealed a complaint in federal court charging him with “conducting a money transmitting business that transported and transmitted illicit funds.” According to the DOJ, Bitzlato failed to meet U.S. regulatory safeguards, including Anti-Money Laundering requirements. Former federal prosecutor Grant Fondo also sees an increase in activity. Now a trial attorney and co-chair of the Digital Currency & Blockchain Technology practice, Fondo believes that this is the result of the current bear market, widespread acceptance of cryptocurrency and the government’s obligatory focus on crime. “I think anytime there is a course correction and/or an economic event like a crypto winter, that can also increase activity […] When assets go down, people get hurt, and if people are mixing funds and things, it can create problems,” Fondo tells Cointelegraph Magazine.
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