Dec 05 2025
Authorities in Europe and Israel have targeted companies and suspects behind fraudulent social media advertising campaigns. Coordinated actions by law enforcement in Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, and Israel in November led to two arrests and other suspects questioned. At that time, 600 million euros ($699 million) had been laundered by the network, according to Eurojust, the …
Dec 05 2025
Prosecutors say Credit Suisse allowed money laundering linked to Mozambique’s “tuna bonds” fraud. The fraud devastated the country’s economy in the 2010s. Prosecutors say a 2016 transfer of about $7.86 million should have triggered red flags. The bank failed to report it and later allowed most of the money to be moved to account, prosecutors …
Oct 24 2025
The U.K. has imposed sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans, on several Balkan-based crime figures and gangs. Among those targeted is the Krasniqi forgery network, a Kosovan group that operated a “sophisticated forgery lab producing fake documents” Also sanctioned is Nusret Seferović, alleged leader of a Croatian forgery ring that supplied Balkan gangs with …
Oct 24 2025
Semen Kuksov, 25, was sentenced to more than five years’ imprisonment in February last year. He pleaded guilty to laundering more than 12 million British pounds (around $15 million) of criminally-obtained cash. He obtained Maltese citizenship in 2022 under the country’s controversial “citizenship-by-investment” program. Malta announced in its government gazette on October 21 that it …
Oct 21 2025
The European Union’s attempt to sanction Serbia’s Karić family over their ties to the authoritarian president of Belarus ultimately failed because it listed the wrong company details, according to an investigation. The family used their relationship with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko to obtain real estate development and construction contracts worth more than $1 billion. When …
Oct 21 2025
Nigeria has deported 192 foreign nationals among the 759 suspects arrested during a December crackdown on a major cybercrime ring. The deportees were convicted of cyberterrorism, internet fraud, and related offenses. Those expelled included citizens of China, the Philippines, Tunisia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Timor-Leste. The EFCC said the network laundered illicit proceeds through Genting …
Oct 18 2025
The case concerns accusations of a governance crisis within a company but at stake, some argue, is press freedom in Serbia. The case was filed after London-based BC Partners, the parent company of United Group B.V., dismissed United Group CEO Viktoria Boklag. A ruling could have helped determine the fate of the country’s last independent …
Oct 18 2025
Italian mafia is using TikTok to glamorize criminal life, recruit followers, and experiment with new forms of money laundering. Researchers found striking similarities between Italian and Mexican criminal strategies, including the use of music, luxury imagery, emojis, and viral trends to attract followers and build identities. The authors describe a parallel “communicative ecosystem” where the …
Oct 17 2025
South Sudan’s leaders are looting public resources, an investigative group says. The Sentry warns that systemic corruption is driving violence and political breakdown. The group echoes a United Nations’ warning that corruption and political paralysis are pushing South Sudan to the brink of another war. The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan said …
Oct 17 2025
Ukrainian anti-corruption prosecutors have sent to court a large-scale criminal case against officials of the Chernivtsi Customs Office. Officials are accused of running a “grey import’ scheme that cost the state nearly 290 million hryvnias (about $7 million) Investigators allege the group manipulated import duties through fraudulent declarations, allowing high-value goods to enter Ukraine at …