According to reports, federal prosecutors in the United States are investigating Block Inc, the fintech company owned by Jack Dorsey. The investigation comes after a whistleblower provided documents alleging widespread compliance violations at Block’s payment arms, Square and Cash App. The documents allegedly show that Square and Cash App processed transactions for users in countries under economic sanctions, as well as crypto transactions for terrorist groups. The transactions, which involved credit card, fiat, and Bitcoin transactions, were not reported to the government. The whistleblower claims that Block did not address these compliance breaches when alerted. Another anonymous source with knowledge of Block’s internal systems confirmed the allegations. The whistleblower’s lawyer believes that Block leadership and the board were aware of the compliance breaches. In response, a Block spokesperson stated that the company has a comprehensive compliance program that is regularly updated to address emerging threats and changes in sanctions regulations. This investigation into Block comes amidst a series of legal actions against cryptocurrency firms in the US. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao was recently sentenced to prison for failing to maintain a legally compliant Anti-Money Laundering program, while the co-founders of Samourai Wallet were arrested on money laundering charges. Ethereum development firm Consensys has also sued the SEC, accusing the regulator of attempting to control the future of cryptocurrency through enforcement actions.
Report: US Investigating Block Inc, Jack Dorsey's Company, for Financial Transactions