KYC

President Donald Trump’s apparent green light for doing business in Venezuela is unlikely to prompt a rush of corporate investment, even if U.S. sanctions are rolled back, according to recent reporting by Dow Jones Risk Journal. 

Former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli is on trial over allegations he laundered millions of dollars tied to bribes paid by Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht, a case that plugs Panama into the regionwide “Car Wash” corruption scandal that has toppled political figures across Latin America, according to AFP.

India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has rolled out stricter identity verification requirements for cryptocurrency exchanges, aiming to curb money laundering and terrorist financing, CoinDesk reported, citing Press Trust of India.

Botswana is weighing a “golden passport” program that would grant citizenship to foreigners making a one-off investment of up to about $100,000, as the country searches for fresh revenue streams.

Japan’s rapidly aging population is creating a sprawling new target for financial abuse, with older people experiencing cognitive decline controlling assets worth almost half the country’s GDP.

Authorities raided the residential properties and offices of French Culture Minister Rachida Dati on Thursday as part of a corruption probe linked to her previous tenure as a member of the European Parliament, Bloomberg reported. 

The UK government will examine the role of cryptocurrency donations in politics as part of a wider review of party-financing rules triggered by a bribery case involving a Reform UK politician, Bloomberg reported.

The U.S. government is threatening to downgrade Fiji to the lowest tier in its global human trafficking rankings unless authorities take “decisive action” against a religious group linked to human trafficking and transnational organized crime, OCCRP reported. 

Spanish prosecutors are investigating whether Madrid-based airline Plus Ultra used a €53-million Covid-era bailout to launder money embezzled from Venezuela through a web of companies in France, Switzerland and Spain, according to a report in El País.

Former Bolivian President Luis Arce was arrested on Wednesday as part of a sweeping corruption investigation, just a month after conservative President Rodrigo Paz took office and ended two decades of left-wing rule, according to the Associated Press.