AML

View of the vessel hardening on board a merchant ship using razor wire to stop pirates from boarding the ship. These ship protection measures are employed when the ship passes through high-risk areas

A resurgence of piracy off the coast of Somalia is compounding pressure on global shipping already strained by conflict in the Middle East, with multiple vessels hijacked in recent weeks and industry leaders warning of fresh strain on supply chains.

Polish presidential candidate Karol Nawrocki speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Jasionka, Poland, May 27, 2025. (DHS photo by Tia Dufour)

Polish lawmakers on Friday approved a bill regulating cryptocurrencies as a scandal over the collapse of the country’s biggest crypto exchange widened and questions deepened over whether President Karol Nawrocki, who has twice vetoed similar measures, will sign it into law.

A photo of the sign for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK.

The chief executive of Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said the regulator will no longer be able to defend against every illicit-finance threat equally and must openly prioritize what it focuses on as technology-linked scams continue to rise. 

Banner of President Ben Ali in Kairouan

Financial-crime authorities across the Middle East and North Africa hold powers that look adequate on paper but fail in practice, with anti-corruption agencies unable to freeze assets, prosecutors acting as political gatekeepers, and high-risk sectors filing almost no suspicious activity reports.

Street leading to the Chinatown in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone in Bokeo Province, Laos.

A new report from a U.S. think tank says industrial-scale cyber-fraud operations embedded in Southeast Asia’s special economic zones now generate an estimated $50 billion to $75 billion per year, and should be considered a hybrid security threat rather than a consumer-protection issue.