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On December 14th, local time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine is preparing for meetings with the United States and European allies in the coming days. He will travel to Berlin to meet with US and European representatives to discuss "building the foundations of peace." Zelenskyy stated that this series of consultations is "decisive" for Ukraine, and that Ukraines core objective is "to achieve a decent and just peace." Earlier that day, Germany announced that it would host a US and Ukrainian delegation on the 14th to hold talks on issues such as the Russia-Ukraine ceasefire and to prepare for the summit of European leaders, including Zelenskyy, to be held in Berlin on the 15th. According to previous reports, US Presidential Envoy Witkov and former White House senior advisor Jared Kushner have already departed for Germany to meet with Zelenskyy and other European leaders.On December 14th, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated on the 13th that if the EU were to utilize frozen Russian assets, it would trigger serious problems. Orbán explained that, firstly, such a move would erode public trust in European trustees; secondly, the Russian central bank has filed a lawsuit against the European Clearing Bank (ECB), which holds a large amount of frozen Russian assets, potentially putting the ECB under pressure to repay its debts. Furthermore, given the enormous sums involved, the economy of Belgium, where the ECB is located, could face collapse.The Ukrainian POW Reconciliation Center reports that Belarus has transferred 114 civilians to Ukraine, including Ukrainian and Belarusian citizens.The U.S. Embassy in Lithuania reported that nine prisoners, including Nobel laureate Ales Bialyatsky, have been transferred from Belarus to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Other prisoners are being transferred from Belarus to Ukraine.On December 13, the U.S. Embassy in Vilnius (the capital of the Republic of Lithuania) announced that Belarus had released 123 prisoners following a meeting between U.S. Special Envoy Cole and Belarusian President Lukashenko, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialyatsky. The released prisoners, who were transferred to Lithuania, included Belarusian citizens, U.S. citizens, and citizens of other countries. The U.S. will continue diplomatic efforts to release the remaining political prisoners in Belarus. The embassy stated that the U.S. is prepared to engage with Belarus in a manner consistent with U.S. interests.

Ex-CFO pleads guilty to stealing from SPACs to trade meme stocks, cryptocurrencies

Skylar Shaw

Jan 04, 2023 14:13

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An ex-chief financial officer (CFO) of several special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) pled guilty to stealing more than $5 million from them and losing almost all of it in joke stocks and cryptocurrencies.


Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan, Cooper Morgenthau, 35, of Fernandina Beach, Florida, entered a plea of guilty to one count of wire fraud. The judge was U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer.


When Morgenthau is sentenced on April 25, the suggested federal guidelines call for a jail term of between six and seven and a half years.


The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also resolved related civil allegations against him in exchange for his agreement to lose $5.11 million and pay an equivalent amount in restitution.


A representative for Morgenthau, Michael Bowen, refused to comment.


According to the authorities, Morgenthau stole more than $1.2 million from African Gold Acquisition Corp between June 2021 and August 2022, covered it up by fabricating account statements, and either spent it all in securities trading or lost it all.


The SEC said that Morgenthau then solicited $4.7 million from investors in SPACs known as Strategic Metals Acquisition Corp to make up for his losses, only to lose the majority of it in cryptocurrency trading.


African Gold, a New York-based company formed to purchase a gold mining company, raised $414 million in an IPO in February 2021.


According to the SEC, it dismissed Morgenthau in August of last year when he ran out of money and its suppliers refused to do business with him.


At the time, African Gold said that it fired Morgenthau after becoming aware of his "improper withdrawals" and efforts to hide them.


According to a statement from Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, Morgenthau "confessed that he betrayed the trust that he owed to his public and private investors."