
Traders scratch their heads as financial stock soars 2,800% - onetimemanytime
https://www.msn.com/en-us/finance/markets/mysterious-2572-25-stock-rally-has-traders-scratching-their-heads/ar-BB13SS1S
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wahern
I wonder how prevalent it is to launder money through stock listings by
inflating prices, and if there are traders out there who attempt try to track
such schemes and get in and out before the launderers switch stocks.

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thephyber
"money launderers" tend to avoid commodities that keep their name on the paper
trail, as do equities brokerage accounts. They usually uses shills+fences, but
the SEC has the ability to prosecute these crimes using financial forensics.

~~~
wahern
But in a case like this the launderers could just be rich princes trying to
move money out of the country without domestic blowback, but otherwise not
breaking any laws, foreign or domestic. If you're Putin or some Venezuelan
general, all you really need is a mechanism that flouts currency controls
primarily intended to restrain the commoners, plausible deniability, and a
sufficiently clean paper trail to satisfy international regulators. Schemes
like 1MDB seem to usually go under the radar and are rarely prosecuted, even
in the U.S., which is somewhat unique in its long-arm statutes. Anyhow, you
may be okay with avoiding dollar-denominated transactions altogether.

Also, I may go ahead and just say it, but I wonder how much Middle Eastern and
Chinese money has found its way into the Silicon Valley VC ecosystem, and
specifically the degree to which those sources are tolerant of low or even
negative returns. Sometimes I daydream about a Middle Easter shell company
offering a few million in seed money, perhaps on the condition I provide a
nice salary to a princely board member's third-cousin recently graduated from
Stanford. Though in truth I'm not sure why they'd even care to involve someone
like me, anyhow :(

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asab
Something fishy is going on here...

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mring33621
seems legit

