Binance Failed to Prevent Suspicious Accounts from Moving $144M After 2023 Plea Deal

Suspicious accounts continued to operate on Binance even after the world’s largest exchange agreed to stricter AML controls as part of a 2023 settlement with the U.S., according to a report in the Financial Times. In November 2023, Binance settled with FinCEN and OFAC for sanctions violations and violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, agreeing to pay a total penalty of $4.368 billion.
Singapore
United States
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South Korea Online Retailer Coupang Faces U.S. Securities Class Action over Massive Data Breach

South Korean e-commerce company Coupang has been sued in a U.S. court in an investor class action ​alleging violations of securities laws after a cybersecurity breach exposed ‌personal information of more than 33 million customers, Reuters reported. The lawsuit, filed last week in federal court in ‌California, claims Coupang, its CEO and Chairman Bom Kim and its Chief Financial Officer Gaurav Anand misled investors about the company’s data security practices and failed to disclose the breach in a timely way.
South Korea
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Japan Eyes $7 Trillion Household Savings Pile for Fresh Bond Demand

Japan is looking to the country's $7 trillion household savings hoard to support bond demand with plans to launch new products and incentives, building on hot recent retail sales and filling a void left by diminished central bank buying, Reuters reported. Efforts to attract Japanese households are not new -- in 2010, the finance ministry created a mascot Kokusai-sensei, or Professor JGB, to pitch the securities and later even offered gold coins to buyers of special reconstruction bonds. But where mascots and shiny metals struggled, higher yields have succeeded in drawing in buyers this year.
Japan
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Inc & Out: How Voluntary Liquidation in India Has Become the New Game in Town

Voluntary liquidation is rapidly emerging as the preferred route for company promoters seeking to wind down operations, rather than prolonging unviable businesses and absorbing mounting losses alongside compliance costs. Since the inception of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), about 2,417 companies initiated voluntary liquidation, of which final reports have been submitted in 1,867 cases as of September-end, the Economic Times of India reported.
India
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China Vanke’s Brewing Crisis Suggests Limited Property Easing to Come

China Vanke, once the country’s largest home developer, is no longer too big to fail. As the state-backed property giant buckles under the weight of its debt, the government has so far refrained from stepping in, the Wall Street Journal reported. Analysts say that sends a clear message: Beijing isn’t coming to the sector’s rescue. Vanke, which has about $170.43 billion in assets, is set to become the latest domino to fall after the Shenzhen government abruptly reversed its position on a partial bailout of the developer.
China
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China Leaves Benchmark Lending Rates Unchanged for Seventh Straight Month

China left benchmark loan prime rates (LPRs) unchanged for the seventh consecutive month in December on Monday, matching market expectations, Reuters reported. The steady LPR fixings in December suggested that the authorities are not in a rush to deliver fresh monetary easing measures as the world's second largest economy appears on track to hit Beijing's growth target for the year.
China
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