Lebanon Central Bank Chief, Nevada Man Charged in Separate Money Laundering Crimes

Lebanon’s central bank chief was charged with illicit enrichment and money laundering by Lebanese Judge Ghada Aoun, while a Nevada man pleaded guilty to laundering funds solicited for BitClub Network, according to reports.

Riad Salameh, the governor of Banque du Liban since April 1993, is under investigation in Lebanon and Switzerland for allegedly embezzling over $300 million, the Middle East Eye reported.

Salameh was arrested and taken into custody last week after failing to appear for a court appearance five times, according to the report. Aoun charged his brother, Raja Salameh, and Ukrainian national Anna Kosakova, who owns a company with Raja Salameh, with facilitating money laundering.

See also: Former Paraguay Congress Member Sentenced for International Money Laundering Conspiracy

In an unrelated money laundering case, Gordon Brad Beckstead, 57, of Henderson, Nevada, pleaded guilty to his involvement in a $722 million cryptocurrency scheme whereby he laundered funds solicited for BitClub Network, according to a press release from the Department of Justice (DOJ).

He was charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey, with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of aiding in the preparation of a false tax return.

Read also: NYC Party Planner Charged in $2.3M Bitcoin Laundering Case

From April 2014 through December 2019, the fraudulent BitClub Network solicited money from investors in exchange for shares of a purported cryptocurrency mining pool, the DOJ release stated. Investors were rewarded for recruiting new investors.

BitClub Network creator and operator Matthew Brent Goettsche, Silviu Catalin Balaci, Russ Albert Medlin, Jobadiah Sinclair Weeks and Joseph Frank Abel were all charged by indictment in December 2019 in connection with the scheme.

A former certified public accountant (CPA), Beckstead, a BitClub Network investor, said he conspired with Goettsche and others to launder funds earned by Goettsche, according to the DOJ release. Beckstead also admitted to controlling bank accounts associated with the entities and directing transfers to and from the accounts exceeding $50 million. He also admitted to aiding at least two different tax preparers in the preparation of Goettsche’s false 2017 and 2018 federal tax returns.