Lenders

Brazil’s biggest-ever bank fraud case has left the country’s banking system facing a 52 billion-real ($9.9 billion) bill after Banco Master used funds, asset sales, and other maneuvers to hide major balance-sheet problems from investors and regulators.

Ten years after the Panama Papers exposed the offshore financial system exploited by tax cheats and criminals around the world, prosecutions and transparency reforms tied to the landmark investigation are still unfolding.

A U.S. judge on Thursday granted preliminary approval to Bank of America’s $72.5 million settlement with women who accused the bank of facilitating Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse.

The Trump administration on Wednesday lifted sanctions on Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, removing a key barrier that had prevented Americans from doing business with her and potentially clearing the way for fresh U.S. investment in the country. 

The British Virgin Islands has opened part of its long-guarded corporate registry to outside scrutiny, but anti-corruption advocates say the new transparency rules contain loopholes that could let bad actors hide ownership information and undermine investigations.

French anti-terrorism prosecutors are investigating whether a thwarted bombing at Bank of America’s Paris office was linked to an Iran-backed group that has urged attacks on Jewish communities and businesses across Europe, according to a Financial Times report.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on Tuesday issued new guidance warning that sham transactions used by sanctioned individuals and entities to disguise continuing control over assets do not extinguish a blocked interest in property under U.S. sanctions rules.

A Malaysian court on Tuesday ordered jailed former Prime Minister Najib Razak to pay $1.3 billion to SRC International, a former unit of scandal-linked state fund 1MDB, after finding him liable for losses incurred by the company.

Hungary’s foreign minister privately shared sensitive European Union discussions with Russia and worked with Moscow to try to remove sanctioned Russian individuals, banks, and companies from EU blacklists.

Britain’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has fined Apple Distribution International Ltd £390,000 for breaching Russian sanctions, saying the subsidiary of Apple instructed a UK bank to make two payments totaling £635,618.75 to a Russian streaming company owned by a designated entity.