By Tom Wilson

LONDON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Crime involving cryptocurrencies hit an all-time high of $14 billion last year, blockchain researcher Chainalysis said on Thursday, a record that comes as regulators call for more powers over the fast-growing sector.

id="article-body" class="row" section="article-body" data-component="trackCWV">

It appears the self-proclaimed 'Crocodile of Wall Street', Heather Rhiannon Morgan, 31, who was granted $3million bail on Wednesday, led a second life a hipster New York rapper who performs under the street name Razzlekhan.

In a series of cringey videos posted to YouTube, the wannabe performer can be seen walking around Wall Street while reciting lyrics such as: 'I'm many things, a rapper, an economist, a journalist, a writer, a CEO, and a dirty, dirty, dirty dirty h*'. 

BERLIN (AP) - German prosecutors announced Monday they have busted one of the world's biggest international darknet market platforms for child pornography, used by more than 400,000 registered members.

Frankfurt prosecutors said in a statement together with the Federal Criminal Police Office that in mid-April three German suspects, said to be the administrators of the "Boystown" platform, were arrested along with a German user.
One of the three main suspects was arrested in Paraguay.

German police have taken down one of the world's largest child porn sites with over 400,000 members and arrested four people accused of running it.

The site, known as BOYSTOWN and accessible only via the so-called Darkweb, had existed since July 2019 and was used for the worldwide exchange of child porn.

Investigators spent months probing the site and those behind it, before arresting three main suspects along with a fourth man in raids last month.

id="article-body" class="row" section="article-body" data-component="trackCWV">

By Tom Wilson

LONDON, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Criminals are using a small group of cryptocurrency brokers and services to launder hundreds of millions of dollars of dirty virtual money, research shared with Reuters showed on Thursday.

Just 270 cryptocurrency addresses, many connected to over-the-counter brokers, received $1.3 billion in illicit digital coins last year - some 55% of all criminal crypto flows identified by U.S.

blockchain researcher Chainalysis.

id="article-body" class="row" section="article-body" data-component="trackCWV">

Two of the three largest dark web markets are closed for business.

id="article-body" class="row" section="article-body" data-component="trackCWV">

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - A man whom U.S. authorities have described as the world´s largest purveyor of child pornography would be sentenced to 21 to 27 years in prison under the terms of a new plea deal.

The deal between Eric Eoin Marques and Justice Department prosecutors is designed to satisfy a judge in Maryland who rejected their original agreement, which called for a prison sentence of 15 to 21 years.

Defense attorneys outlined the new terms in a court filing on Friday.

They said a 21-year prison sentence would be "fair and just" for Marques.