Former head of crypto platform Celsius sentenced 12 years
Mashinsky pleaded guilty last December to securities fraud in a deal that reduced the level of charges he faced.
The sentence comes down nearly three years after the startup's collapse as a cryptocurrency platform, which offered customers the ability to invest in digital currencies, including its own coin, CEL.
According to the indictment, Celsius executives took more than $4 billion in customers' assets to finance the platform's operations, make unsecured loans and invest in high-risk items.
Mashinsky was also accused of manipulating the price of CEL by using customers' funds to purchase the currency, artificially inflating its price.
At its peak in late 2021, Celsius had more than one million clients and held more than $25 billion in assets.
But the company hit hard times in the spring of 2022 as the value of cryptocurrencies plummeted.
Facing deep customer withdrawals, Celsius on June 12, 2022 froze over $4.7 billion in customer accounts before filing for bankruptcy protection a month later.
A progress report published in March found that 93 percent of the frozen assets had been recovered and returned to former Celsius customers.
The 2022 cryptocurrency collapse affected a number of other startups in the field, including FTX, the second-largest crypto exchange that filed for bankruptcy in November 2022.
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The Citizen
5 days ago
- The Citizen
24 hours in pictures, 17 July 2025
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IOL News
08-07-2025
- IOL News
Rheinmetall Denel faces scrutiny over allegations of arms use in Sudan conflict
All Rheinmetall high-explosive HV and MV cartridges can be equipped with a unique, jamming-proof, affordable airburst time-delay capability. The high explosive cartridges meet the environmental specifications for helicopter and propeller vibration, long-term storage, etc, while the fuse complies with STANAG 4187 safety requirements. Equipped with an electronic self-destruct mechanism and an enhanced point detonation function, the HE cartridges remain reliable at temperatures ranging from -46 degrees Celsius to 63 degrees Celsius. Image: Supplied THE company Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM) — an arms manufacturer operating in South Africa — has once again come under the spotlight following claims that its products may have been used in the ongoing war in Sudan. Last week, the pro-army Sudanese outlet Sudanese Military Capabilities platform accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia of using 40mm phosphorus grenades during battles in Khartoum. Investigators from the Sudanese platform claim to have traced the PHOS M8931 grenades to production lines operated by American Rheinmetall Munitions (ARM) in the United States and Rheinmetall Denel Munition in South Africa. The PHOS M8931 grenades in question are promoted internationally as 'smoke' and obscurant munitions, designed for signaling or cover on the battlefield. However, experts have long noted that phosphorus-based rounds can double as incendiary devices under certain conditions, particularly when combined with thermal detonators. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ The Sudanese Military Capabilities report alleges that such grenades were used in densely populated urban areas of Khartoum, contributing to fires during recent clashes. Sudan's Attorney General had previously accused RSF units of deploying prohibited weapons such as white phosphorus, which is restricted under international law, although definitive proof remains a subject of ongoing debate. The Sudanese Military Capabilities platform has called for an international investigation into the matter. Critics argue that loopholes in international arms regulations, particularly the classification of phosphorus rounds as 'smoke' munitions, allow companies to bypass restrictions on incendiary weapons. Rheinmetall has faced similar scrutiny in the past, with its products reportedly surfacing in conflict zones such as Yemen and Myanmar. Over the past few years South African courts temporarily blocked arms sales to Myanmar's military regime and Saudi Arabia following reports of human rights abuses linked to imported weaponry. In South Africa itself, a wave of public debate has emerged around Rheinmetall Denel's activities.
eNCA
06-07-2025
- eNCA
AI robots fill in for weed killers and farm hands
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