China’s foreign ministry has reportedly confirmed that a visiting Atlanta-based banker who works for the financial service behemoth Wells Fargo has been prohibited from leaving the country.

CNN reports that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Monday that the exit ban placed on Chenyue Mao is due to her involvement in a criminal case.

Mao serves as managing director at Wells Fargo Bank N.A.

“According to Chinese law, the case is under investigation, and Ms. Mao is temporarily unable to leave the country and is obligated to cooperate with the investigation. During the investigation, the authorities will ensure that her legal rights are protected.”

The bank, which operates overseas branches in Shanghai and Beijing, decided to suspend all travel to China following the exit restrictions.

“We are closely tracking this situation and working through the appropriate channels so our employee can return to the United States as soon as possible.”

It is not clear how Mao is linked to the criminal case. Just last month, she was elected the new chair of FCI, a global association of companies formerly known as the Factors Chain International.

In a statement to the BBC, the US embassy in Shanghai says that the Chinese government has long imposed exit bans on US citizens and other foreign nationals, often without a clear and transparent judicial process.

“We track these cases closely, and have raised our concern with Chinese authorities about the impact these arbitrary exit bans have on our bilateral relations and urged them to immediately allow impacted US citizens to return home.”

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

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The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is taking action against a former bank employee who allegedly stole millions of dollars from customer accounts.

The OCC says it’s issuing an order of prohibition against William Shane Garrow, the former senior vice president of private banking for a subsidiary of BOK Financial in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Says the OCC,

“Between approximately March 17, 2021 and March 12, 2024, respondent misappropriated approximately $3,437,536 from multiple customers’ accounts under the bank’s custody for his personal benefit, without the customers’ knowledge or authorization.”

According to the OCC, Garrow engaged in unsafe and unsound practices and violations of law that resulted in significant losses for the bank.

The regulator has now banned Garrow from working at insured depository institutions, including banks and credit unions. The former bank executive is consenting to the issuance of the order without admitting or denying the OCC’s findings.

The OCC action comes after Garrow pleaded guilty to bank fraud and willfully making and subscribing a false Federal income tax return. Garrow was sentenced last month to 71 months in prison. He was also ordered to pay $3.86 million in restitution and $1.519 million to the IRS.

Prosecutors said Garrow directed fraudulent wire transfers and cashier’s checks from at least 16 client accounts to entities and bank accounts that he controlled. If a client asked about the transactions, Garrow blamed it on a banking error and would return the funds stolen or transfer money from another victim’s account.

Said US Attorney Clint Johnson last month,

“Garrow deceived people for over 12 years, and his actions wreaked havoc on banking personnel who were tasked with correcting his wrongs. This was not a simple banking error or an accident, but rather a criminal scheme. Garrow abused the trust given to him by the bank and its customers.”

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

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An ex-Goldman Sachs banker is reportedly being sentenced to prison for his role in the massive $4.5 billion theft of the Malaysian State Investment Fund (1MBD).

According to a new report by NBC News, former Goldman Sachs employee Tim Leissner has been sentenced to two years behind bars for paying a part in the multibillion-dollar heist.

Prosecutors say that Leissner and others who worked for the banking giant aided Malaysia in raising $6.5 billion for the nation’s investment fund through bond sales. However, $4.5 billion of those funds were stolen, laundered via bribes and kickbacks, and used to purchase luxury goods and fund extravagant lifestyles.

The report says the scandal was far-reaching and led to the downfall of then-Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2018, who was later convicted of crimes connected to the scheme and sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Leissner is due to report to prison on September 15th. He pleaded guilty in 2018 to bribing officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi.

Says Leissner,

“The funds raised more than a decade ago could have profoundly benefited the nation and its citizens. Instead, due to my greed – and the greed of those involved alongside me – they were misappropriated.

What we did was unequivocally wrong, and I take full responsibility for my role. I deeply regret my actions, and if I could turn back time, I would undo them without hesitation.”

Leissner’s sentence includes two years of supervised release after prison and a forfeiture of nearly $44 million.

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The ex-CEO of a small bank reportedly sent shockwaves through a small American community when he fell for an elaborate crypto scam, causing over $47 million in damages and wiping out generational wealth.

In August of last year, Shan Hanes, the former CEO of Heartland Tri-State Bank (HTSB) in Elkhart, Kansas, was sentenced to 24 years in prison for funneling the bank’s money into a cryptocurrency scheme that turned out to be a blatant scam.

The Justice Department said that Hanes had fallen victim to a pig butchering scheme, a widespread type of scheme where scammers build relationships with their targeted victims to lure them into making fraudulent investments.

A new report from the New York Times details how the collapse of the bank – in which many townspeople held investments – affected the community.

In July of 2023, the Kansas banking commissioner showed up at the bank to announce that the lender would be shut down and transferred over to a new company. While the deposits were insured, shares of HTSB had become completely worthless, erasing many of Elkhart residents’ retirements, savings and emergency funds.

Jim Tucker, who served on HTSB’s board with his father, described how Hanes repeatedly convinced his colleagues and the community to keep borrowing money to “invest” in the scam. The Tucker family lost $1.4 million worth of HTSB shares, wealth that was meant to be passed on to their children.

A pair of brothers, Moe and John Houtz, lost hundreds of thousands of dollars from HTSB’s collapse.

And Hanes himself drained his own personal savings, then began stealing directly from his local investment club, his church and from HTSB’s reserves.

Says U.S. Attorney Kate E. Brubacher,

“Hanes’ greed knew no bounds. He trespassed his professional obligations, his personal relationships, and federal law. Not only did Shan Hanes betray Heartland Bank and its investors, but his illegal schemes also jeopardized confidence in financial institutions.”

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

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