"The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed charges against an international securities dealer and its Austria-based CEO for allegedly violating the federal securities laws in connection with security-based swaps funded with bitcoins," the release said on Thursday.
The securities dealer, 1Broker, and its CEO Patrick Brunner solicited US investors and others from around the world to buy and sell security-based swaps, the release said citing the SEC’s complaint.
An undercover FBI agent successfully bought several security-based swaps on 1Broker’s platform from the United States despite not meeting the discretionary investment thresholds required by the federal securities laws, the release said.
Director of the SEC’s Fort Worth Regional Office Shamoil Shipchandler said in the release that international companies that deal with US investors cannot evade compliance with the federal securities laws by using cryptocurrency.