Michael Halepas

Barrister ⚖️ | Crime and Crypto | Consultant to both the Government of the BVI and the Council of Europe, ECCD | Views expressed are my own | #Blockchain

[Michael Halepas @MikeHalepas]

Excited to be moderating at the @NFCsummit in Lisbon on Stablecoin Day, 5 June. I'll be joined by Eyal Daskal, Alex Dulub, and Pavel Dzidukh for a panel on Risk, Security and Legal Enforcement in Web3. If you're attending, come find us at 14:40. #NFCSummit #Lisbon2026 🇵🇹

[Michael Halepas @MikeHalepas]

The focus is on facilitators, shell companies, and cross‑border value flows underpinning a synthetic opioid supply chain.

#Sanctions #OFAC #Fentanyl #SinaloaCartel #AML #CFT #FinancialCrime #RiskManagement #Compliance #NarcoTerrorism #BlockAML

[Michael Halepas @MikeHalepas]

The latest @USTreasury action against the Sinaloa Cartel’s fentanyl network is another reminder that sanctions are no longer just about banks and wire transfers.

https://t.co/H8v1ktyuft

[Michael Halepas @MikeHalepas]

The recent designation package targets an alleged money laundering network which the @USTreasury says moves and cleans proceeds from fentanyl and other narcotics trafficking.

[Visual Capitalist @VisualCap]

Bybit’s massive $1.5 billion breach tops the list of crypto hacks that have cost the industry billions since 2025 💸

This graphic, produced in partnership with @Inigo_Insurance, ranks the 10 biggest crypto hacks since 2025 by the value of assets stolen.

https://t.co/FtqVc5FemB #ig02 #fraudindata

[Michael Halepas @MikeHalepas]

It aims to ensure that policing and the wider counter‑fraud community have the capability and capacity to detect, disrupt and deter perpetrators of fraud. I am greatly looking forward to contributing to the Academy’s mandate. #EconomicCrime #CyberCrime #FraudPrevention #AML

[Michael Halepas @MikeHalepas]

Having recently been approved as an Associate Trainer with the @CityPoliceECCA, this week I had the pleasure, as part of my training, of observing the "Management of Economic Crime Investigation Course".

[Michael Halepas @MikeHalepas]

The ECCA is the City of London Police’s centre of excellence for building national and international capability to investigate and combat economic and cyber crime, primarily through specialist training and professional development.

[Michael Halepas @MikeHalepas]

As more governments experiment with mining, Treasury‑held crypto, and state‑backed token projects, the absence of clear mandates, disclosure standards, and independent oversight becomes a public‑policy risk in its own right.

#Bhutan #PublicGovernance #CryptoPolicy #Bitcoin

[Michael Halepas @MikeHalepas]

When a sovereign quietly offloads hundreds of millions of US$ in Bitcoin, the real story is not just price action, it is public governance.  Sudden, opaque shifts in state‑held crypto raise hard questions...

https://t.co/hx7hUyfkg1

[Michael Halepas @MikeHalepas]

▪️ Who sets strategy?

▪️ Who signs off on risk?

▪️ What transparency do citizens get over digital assets held in their name?

[Michael Halepas @MikeHalepas]

Excited to be speaking at @NFCsummit, a major Web3 pop‑culture festival in Europe, in Lisbon this June.

If you are attending and working in crypto, compliance, or financial crime, feel free to reach out. Always happy to connect and exchange ideas.

#NFCLisbon #Web3 #BlockAML

[Michael Halepas @MikeHalepas]

This type of case raises difficult questions about duty of care, disclosure and redress when a user does “the right thing” (self‑custody) but is still victimised by hostile infrastructure.

#Bitcoin #SelfCustody #Ledger #AppStore #Security #Phishing #Scams #BlockAML

[Michael Halepas @MikeHalepas]

U.S. musician Garrett “G. Love” Dutton has reportedly lost almost 6 BTC (apparently his entire retirement savings) after downloading what he believed was the official “Ledger Live” app from Apple’s Mac App Store and entering his seed phrase.

https://t.co/b9oiouKNIg

[Michael Halepas @MikeHalepas]

▪️ Platform and UX decisions by Apple, Ledger and exchanges now sit squarely inside the real risk surface for ordinary users.
▪️ When stolen funds hit centralised exchanges quickly, questions arise about what red‑flag patterns should trigger freezing and further AML review.

[Michael Halepas @MikeHalepas]

I look forward to supporting this important aspect of the justice system.

#London #magistrates #professionaldiscipline #complaints #investigations #fairprocess #judicialconduct #publicappointments #legalprofession

[Michael Halepas @MikeHalepas]

I am pleased to have been appointed as a non‑magistrate member of the London Conduct Advisory Committee by the Lord Chancellor, with the concurrence of the Lady Chief Justice.

https://t.co/Cv8epniTyw

[Michael Halepas @MikeHalepas]

Non‑magistrate members contribute an independent, external perspective to this work. In this role I will help to ensure that decisions are taken fairly, consistently and in line with the Lord Chancellor’s Directions and guidance issued by the Lady Chief Justice.