AML

Binance failed for months to cut ties with a payment-processing vendor despite a series of red flags that pointed to possible sanctions evasion and money laundering involving transfers later linked to Iran.

New details have emerged about the seizure of two armored bank vehicles by Hungarian officials earlier this month, including allegations that the then-detained Ukrainian bank workers were beaten and injected with an unknown substance.

Italian authorities have seized assets worth about €20 million in Tuscany that investigators say were purchased with money embezzled from actor Ursula Andress.

South Africa’s national police commissioner, Fannie Masemola, has been charged in a widening corruption investigation linked to the award of a 360 million rand ($21 million) police health-services contract to a businessman already under scrutiny for tender fraud.

Two Chinese pharmaceutical firms and six Chinese nationals are facing charges after prosecutors said they were part of a drug-trafficking network that provided material support to the Cártel del Golfo (CDG), a Mexican criminal syndicate that was designated as a foreign terrorist organization.

Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and the National Federation of Builders have launched a campaign to help the construction industry combat invoice fraud, warning that the crime costs businesses millions of pounds and poses a particular threat to firms handling complex supply chains and high-value payments.

French financial prosecutors searched the Paris offices of private bank Edmond de Rothschild last week as part of an investigation into suspected bribery involving former employee and diplomat Fabrice Aidan, in a case linked to documents from the Jeffrey Epstein files.

Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) defended its decision to award a short-term artificial intelligence contract to Palantir Technologies on Tuesday, telling lawmakers the U.S. firm would not have access to regulatory intelligence as concerns mounted over sensitive data and the growing reach of major technology providers in government.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has been designated a “priority target” by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration as federal prosecutors in New York examine his alleged ties to drug traffickers.

Two U.S. senators are set to introduce bipartisan legislation that would prohibit Commodity Futures Trading Commission-regulated prediction-market platforms from offering contracts tied to sporting events.