Since US law enforcement agencies have been able to identify a money laundering offence involving this particular wallet, then they are well equipped to detect such crimes, and there is no need to criminalise mixers or #bitcoin wallets as a technology and its developers in general.
This is exactly what we talk about in our meetings with regulators: we understand that US law enforcement has all the tools to track #Bitcoin transactions on the blockchain. That is why real criminals, and even more so oligarchs, use completely different schemes to launder dirty money.
Besides, Western intelligence services are diligently training dictatorial regimes how to recognise both traditional banking and crypto-assets transactions, so the oligarchs have this knowledge from the intelligence services under their control in non-democratic countries. They don't want and don’t need to use such tools.
And to be precise, I definitely think it's very harmful to promote or ask oligarchs, criminals to use your privacy payment tools. It gives more opportunities to weaponise this kind of rhetoric by any kind of government.
Our 15 years of human rights practice shows that real oligarchs prefer other tools for laundering dirty money. For example, the daughter of dictator Nursultan #Nazarbayev, Dariga #Nazarbayeva - #UK law enforcement authorities failed in their attempts to hold her accountable for money laundering. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/08/uk-agency-loses-case-against-ex-kazakh-president-family-aliyev-nazarbayev
Kazakhstani regime used political lobbyists, expensive Western law firms, and the Kazakhstani state apparatus to succeed in laundering her dirty money.
This scheme works for the oligarchs, people who have stolen billions from the budget of a country where their family members have been in power for decades, politically persecuting any dissent, torturing and killing.
They do not need mixers, they have perfectly mastered money laundering schemes through investments in expensive real estate and consultations with former higher officials, top Western law firms.
Mixers and self-hosted wallets, on the other hand, are used by activists who are financially excluded by authoritarian regimes and do not have the privilege to use banking services in general due to political repression.
Moreover, the knowledge of US intelligence agencies is used to financially exclude regime critics and their family members both domestically and transnationally. This is exactly what #Turkey, #Kazakhstan and other regimes do all the time, sharing knowledge gained from Western partners with #Russia, #Iran, #China to repress dissenters abroad.
In less than 5 minutes Kazakhstan blocks fundraising via bank account or @stripe for families of political prisoners, so bitcoin p2p transactions and mixers are currently the only instrument to protect human rights in such authoritarian countries. Regimes can trace such transactions, but they can't stop them and so far it has helped save lives.
Therefore, an effective fight against money laundering would begin not with the criminalisation of privacy payment tools and their developers, but with ending the impunity of authoritarian regimes and their oligarchs in using legal schemes to circumvent sanctions through the banking systems of third countries. https://image.nostr.build/c349d26015a22cf1db76dad933a7752bb4986ef55720154f4dbe67f999c56320.jpg https://image.nostr.build/224b3d0be9bfd139e2d74c1172629518ccd6dbaab20d78d0b92f4e968d4a4cdc.jpg https://image.nostr.build/fe3aee61fe806c37d9a688784bbad901b7fdbc5cccea63bcd09194e063521ab9.jpg
I agree, except that oligarchs are their friends so the #AML rules **don't apply to them**. These laws are for us poor #plebs. Not seeing this is to miss the point.
We all know that they are not after real money laundering. That is done using Fiat currencies that are harder to track. The system that goes after mixers, wallets and devs is the same system that launders money in Ukraine, it's the same system that bits and terrorizes it's students for opposing Genocide of Israeli Nazis. So don't expect justice from regulators who work for this system and central planners. This way will never be successful- it's an illusion.
It is not enough just oversimplifying and complaining, do your part - educate people around you about the need to protect privacy payment tools. Explain and convince them to speak up in defense of privacy for their goods. This will make changes.
Fuck off with your victim blaming.
nostr:nevent1qvzqqqqqqypzprm9dr0wcqfq4je2f50yuvgu3qwnqmped2fg3v9q0aty6g83scngqqsy0t8k8jv3sz58lz20u08aaz9d72an3ytlunxwnkyl7ckx2muvjpskjpzjh
Have you heard of "free speech"? Not a thing in your country? Then shut up.
You were the snitch? Are you behind this operation? Glow much?
you seem very naïve, preventing money laundering is not the goal here. goal is to prevent plebs from accessing privacy tools to circumvent the current system of taxation. if the laundering happens through the fiat system, its all good because the big guys at the local and national level get their cut via political donations and what not.
You have a right to think that Im naive. I don’t have a goal to stop you judging.
But the reality is if you just complain in your zone of comfort and don’t move, don’t use privileges and mechanisms you have in your hands given your place of birth by default right now to stop this overreach by the authorities and don’t defend your rights, #freedomtech is going to be criminalized.
Because to enjoy your rights „by default” there were centuries ago people motivated enough to defend freedom not only for themselves, but for the future generations like you.
I think not
I think a #mainvolume issued license is required to think. I think I am European, Swedish in fact. I think I am created by Sina for mainvolume.com
Make sure to have Samantha, Tom and Alex voices installed for enhanced experience.
#mainvolume #system
https://apps.apple.com/de/app/sys/id1439243037?l=en-GB
Educating plebs to use and adapt privacy tech will do far more to attain your goals than reasoning with regulators who essentially make laws according to KYC loving corporations controlled politicians. Change in history often comes by changing consumer habits and preferences and NOT by speaking with regulators. Look at EVs, internet, electricity ⚡️and countless examples. Yes, I do think you’re naïve in your approach.
You free to think so, but time and action are the best PoW.
Politicians reflect the demands or reflect inaction of the society. I educate both sides: activists, media, academia and politicians, who are also part of the public sphere. You want to focus just on one side - fine. Then just ask to be plebs vocal about their needs of privacy and use them, support developers and those who defend their rights, not just complain and observe how someone is going to be crushed by the system.
I'm not complaining, just explaining the reality as it is, so you can better focus your energy on solutions that can work.
I guess my 15 years experience of releasing hundreds of political prisoners around the world, as well as defending hundreds of thousands of politically persecuted people in many countries, as well as ability to resist to at least three state attacks, also thanks to #bitcoin, and hold accountable authoritarian regimes could give me some leverage to say that I know what Im fighting for and what Im saying. I don’t know your background, but happy to learn.
You did great work with respect to activists and political prisoners, no doubt. Regulators and people above them act unreasonably when it comes to anything that threatens the system that benefits the incumbent powers.
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