Partner Justin Weitz spoke on the Cryptonite with Rich Goldberg podcast, where he discussed the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) approach to cases involving allegations of crypto fraud and what fintech companies can learn from the collapse of centralized cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
Justin, who spent nearly a decade in the DOJ’s Criminal Division, said the situation shows the importance of having a strong compliance culture and solid compliance policies.
“The right thing to do if you’re a fintech…is to invest in that compliance advice early on,” Justin said.
“Because if you do that you are much better positioned to avoid this kind of epic collapse later. And frankly, if there is wrongdoing going on or there are practices that are [lacking], you can often get ahead of them and reduce the structural risk to the company.”