corruption

U.S. Democratic Senator Mark Kelly accused Trump of purchasing $5 million in SpaceX bonds and announced a significant space policy change affecting SpaceX two days later, questioning the corrupt nature of his actions.

Members of the European Parliament are calling on the European Commission to include corruption risks related to crypto assets, opaque ownership structures, and digital tools in the upcoming anti-corruption strategy. The European Parliament passed a non-binding resolution on Thursday, outlining the policy focus of this strategy.Members also urged for enhanced tracking, freezing, confiscation, and recovery of criminal proceeds, as well as improvements to public procurement, conflict of interest, lobbying, and political financing rules, and stronger protections for whistleblowers and investigative journalists. The European Commission plans to adopt its first anti-corruption strategy by the end of 2026. This strategy will complement the EU anti-corruption directive that came into effect in May, which standardized the definitions of corruption crimes and minimum penalty standards among member states.

According to The Philippine Star, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) of the Philippines has obtained a court freeze order to freeze over 100 financial accounts and other assets related to a congressman and several individuals and entities. These assets are suspected to be linked to corruption, plunder, and irregularities in flood control projects.The freeze includes 86 bank accounts, 4 investment accounts, 1 insurance policy, and 25 virtual asset wallets. The AMLC stated that the funds circulated through multiple virtual asset service providers and various virtual asset wallets, complicating tracking efforts. The council did not disclose the identities of the relevant congressman and other parties involved.

Former client manager Lin Junxian of China Construction Bank (Asia) Co., Ltd. admitted to conspiring with an employee of a fintech company and his accomplices to accept bribes, totaling over 470,000 US dollars in cryptocurrency "Tether," to illegally certify multiple false documents without bank authorization, serving as collateral for several insurance-related investment transactions.An internal investigation by China Construction Bank (Asia) uncovered the incident, which subsequently led to a corruption complaint to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and provided full assistance. Judge Lin Jin Hong postponed the sentencing of the case to September 18, during which the defendant remains in custody under the supervision of the Correctional Services Department.

According to a report by Sina Finance, Lin Junxian, a former client manager of China Construction Bank (Asia) Corporation Limited, admitted to conspiring with an employee of a financial technology company and his accomplices to accept bribes, totaling over 470,000 US dollars in cryptocurrency "Tether." They illegally certified multiple false documents without the bank's authorization to secure several insurance-related investment transactions.An internal investigation by China Construction Bank (Asia) uncovered the incident, which was subsequently reported to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) along with full cooperation. Judge Lin Jianhong has postponed the sentencing of the case to September 18, during which the defendant will remain in custody under the Correctional Services Department.

According to Cointelegraph, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has officially proposed the Anti-Corruption Bureau Creation Act, which aims to establish a new government agency dedicated to addressing corruption at the federal level. The bill specifically names Trump, citing his disclosed investment earnings of over $2 billion in 2025 (of which $1.4 billion is related to cryptocurrency), as well as his family's holdings in cryptocurrency funds linked to foreign governments totaling over $1 billion.The proposed agency will consist of 7 bipartisan members, who will take office upon confirmation by the Senate, and will have "substantive powers" to investigate, enforce, and prevent administrative corruption, integrating the Federal Election Commission, the Office of Government Ethics, and the Office of Special Counsel under one roof. Senators Andy Kim, Alex Padilla, and Jeff Merkley jointly proposed the measure. White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly responded that Trump's investments "are held in a fully managed account by an independent third-party financial institution, with no conflicts of interest."

Senator Warren called the application "the most despicable" presidential corruption scandal, pointing out that the UAE National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan's related investment firm invested $500 million in WLFI four days before Trump took office, acquiring a 49% stake, of which approximately $187 million flowed to Trump family entities.Warren urged Gould to reject or suspend the review of the application, stating that approval would make him "an accomplice to corruption." Gould, however, refused to intervene, stating that he would process the application according to standard procedures and countered that the only political pressure felt came from Warren. 41 House Democrats had previously written to the Treasury Secretary, warning that approving the license could threaten "the legitimacy of the U.S. banking system and its independence from foreign actors."

According to Decrypt, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy from Connecticut has warned that a deal involving UAE investors secretly paying Trump-associated cryptocurrency firms may involve potential criminal activity. Murphy alleged that four days before Trump's inauguration, Aryam Investment, linked to UAE Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, agreed to acquire 49% of Trump-associated cryptocurrency company World Liberty Financial for $500 million, with approximately $187 million flowing to entities associated with the Trump family and at least $31 million going to family-associated entities of Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.Subsequently, the Trump administration approved the expansion of UAE's access to advanced U.S. AI chips, which had been restricted during the Biden administration. In his Senate speech, Murphy summarized the accusation as: a secret massive transfer of funds to Trump and envoy-associated families, followed by the U.S. sharing restricted security technology with the UAE. He stated that this is corruption, constitutes elements of bribery, and is potential criminal behavior, warning that although accountability may be delayed, the consequences are inevitable, the rule of law will return, and those who trade power for money will go to jail. Previously, it was reported that a confidant of the Abu Dhabi royal family secretly invested $500 million to acquire 49% of the Trump family's WLFI company; Trump responded that he was unaware of the $500 million investment from Abu Dhabi into WLFI, and that his sons were handling it.

Eric Trump, the second son of Trump, stated on the Full Send podcast that the total supply of Bitcoin is fixed at 21 million coins, which is a "beautiful" design that cannot expand its supply through continuous mining like commodities such as gold. This limitation creates true scarcity, making it a global asset.In addition, he mentioned that Bitcoin is easier to transfer globally compared to gold, and that Bitcoin has no "management," thus there are no issues of corruption, fraud, or abuse.

According to Decrypt, a strongly partisan report released by House Judiciary Committee Democrats accuses Trump of using the White House to enrich himself and his family through cryptocurrency. The report claims that Trump and his family engaged in a "cryptocurrency scam" to profit $800 million in the first half of 2025. Currently, the total value of cryptocurrencies and stocks held by the Trump family has reached $11 billion, doubling the family's wealth in less than a year. Foreign entities have made significant investments in the Trump family's issued tokens or made political donations in exchange for favorable policies and regulatory relief from the White House.Specific examples cited in the Democratic report include Trump granting clemency to BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes (March 2025) and Binance founder CZ (October 2025), as well as terminating investigations into several leading cryptocurrency companies such as Coinbase, Gemini, Robinhood, Ripple, Crypto.com, Uniswap, Yuga Labs, and Kraken. The report also mentions the disbanding of the Justice Department's "National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team" and the repeal of investor protection regulations like the executive order on "Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets" signed during the Biden administration.The core conclusion of the Democrats is that Trump has turned the "Oval Office into the world's most corrupt cryptocurrency startup," and his so-called "pro-cryptocurrency policies" are essentially a self-enrichment scheme for the Trump family, built on "pay-to-play" and corrupt foreign interests.

ChainCatcher news, Ripple CLO Stuart Alderoty stated on platform X that The New York Times has published submissions for the second time in two weeks, portraying cryptocurrency as a tool for crime and corruption, a claim that is "lazy and inaccurate." Over 55 million people in the U.S. are using cryptocurrency technology, with more than 75% stating that it has improved their lives by helping them send money securely, verify assets, and build a new business system that is transparent and traceable.Stuart Alderoty emphasized, "Corruption does not thrive in the sunlight," and the true meaning of cryptocurrency is to help ordinary Americans save time, reduce costs, and achieve financial freedom.

ChainCatcher news, according to Ainvest, the U.S. Senate voted down an anti-cryptocurrency corruption amendment with 46 votes in favor and 54 votes against. The amendment was proposed by Senator Jeff Merkley and aimed to prohibit elected officials from using their positions to gain improper benefits in the cryptocurrency field.The main goal of the amendment was to prevent public officials from obtaining "unfair gains" by promoting specific cryptocurrencies or achieving self-interest through "cryptocurrency schemes." Specific measures included prohibiting officials from publicly promoting specific cryptocurrencies, strengthening disclosure requirements for holdings, restricting cryptocurrency trading during their term, and preventing conflicts of interest.Senator Merkley stated on social media platform X that the failure of the amendment was mainly due to opposition from Republicans.

ChainCatcher News, Senate Democrats blocked stablecoin legislation supported by the digital asset industry, and Trump's extensive and growing cryptocurrency portfolio has caused a stir.The bill's supporters failed to reach the required 60 votes in Thursday's vote, with a tally of 49 to 48. There is still a possibility for both sides to reach an agreement in the coming weeks, as many Democrats argue that stablecoin regulation is crucial for protecting consumers and providing guidelines for this emerging industry. Trump has recently been heavily promoting the TRUMP coin named after him, and after the token's organizers launched a marketing campaign stating "the largest holders can dine with the president," token sales surged. Democratic Senator Warren and others have claimed that such measures exhibit clear corruption.

ChainCatcher message, the meme coin TRUMP announces that Trump will have dinner with the first 220 holders of the token. U.S. Senator Chris Murphy from Connecticut stated, "This not only reflects Trump's nature, but the TRUMP coin scam may be the most blatant act of corruption by a president in history."

ChainCatcher News: A U.S. judge has completely dismissed the corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who is a crypto-friendly individual. He previously announced that his first paycheck after taking office was converted into BTC and ETH through Coinbase.

ChainCatcher news, Gala stated on social media that he is "resigning normally" and feels wronged by the rumored "exaggerated turmoil." Gala previously held a position on the BNB chain under Binance, and his departure has sparked discussions in the cryptocurrency community.Binance co-founder He Yi responded on social media, stating that there were no reported corrupt practices by Gala on the BNB chain, and that other companies have already invited him to join, wishing him well.