Hey, FINCEN Just Read Bloomberg!

[acoindr]

Wired just published an article about 'Dark Wallet', Bitcoin money laundering software conceived by Cody Wilson and Amir Taaki noting:

In a statement to WIRED, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network wrote only that it’s “well aware of the many emerging technological efforts designed to subvert financial transparency. It’s certainly our business to be interested and vigilant with respect to any activities that may assist money laundering and other financial crimes.”

Oh, okay! Well FinCEN should be very interested in the following Bloomberg story where no criminal charges for money laundering were ever brought:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-16/hsbc-aided-money-laundering-by-iran-drug-cartels-probe-shows.html

HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA)’s head of group compliance, David Bagley, told a Senate hearing he will step down amid claims the bank gave terrorists, drug cartels and criminals access to the U.S. financial system by failing to guard against money laundering.

[HSBC] ignored links to terrorist financing ... documents show HSBC decided to cut ties with the bank before reversing itself under pressure from Al Rajhi, which received shipments of $1 billion in cash from HSBC’s U.S. operation from 2006 to 2010, according to the report.

Surely HSBC is within FinCEN's jurisdiction?

[jonald_fyookball]

Pretty sure HSBC falls into the 'too big to be prosecuted' category.

[Carlton Banks]

The trouble is that designing or using bitcoin tools to "subvert financial transparency" isn't a crime in it's own right. There are perfectly legal ways to use some Darkwallet features that could also be used to break the law.

[LiteCoinGuy]

to big to fail...and they make the laws, dont forget that