Bank of America, BNY Mellon Sued for Alleged Compliance Failures Linked to Epstein
New class-action lawsuits allege that Bank of America and BNY Mellon enabled Jeffrey Epstein’s trafficking of underage girls, in part by failing to report suspicious activity linked to the financier until after his death in 2019, The Wall Street Journal reported.
UK Hits Rosneft, Lukoil and 51 Oil Tankers with Sanctions
Britain imposed new sanctions Wednesday on Russia’s two largest oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil, and 51 ships, including 44 “shadow fleet” tankers and seven LNG vessels, Reuters reported.
U.S. and UK Blacklist Pig-Butchering Scammers, Seize $15 Billion in Bitcoin
U.S. and UK authorities seized roughly $15 billion in Bitcoin and multiple London properties allegedly linked to a sprawling online fraud scheme based in Cambodia.
Malaysian Authorities Target $115 Million in UBS, JPMorgan for 1MBD Ties
Malaysia’s anti-graft agency will freeze approximately USD $115.32 million held in Swiss bank accounts linked to Prince Turki Abdullah Abdul Al-Saud, a co-founder of PetroSaudi International and a figure tied to the long-running 1MDB scandal.
EU Lawmakers Move to Scale Back ESG Directives
European Union lawmakers voted Monday to dramatically scale back two flagship sustainability rules, narrowing their scope to the bloc’s largest companies after months of pushback from industry, Bloomberg reported.
FSB Warns Market Rally Raises Specter of Sudden Crash
The world’s top financial watchdog warned that a sharp run-up in global asset prices has left markets vulnerable to the potential for a crash given current economic and geopolitical uncertainties.
Bessent Says FinCEN’s New SAR Guidance Will Ease ‘Pain Points’ for Banks
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said new federal guidance on Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) is intended to ease banks’ “pain points” and shift U.S. anti-money laundering oversight toward measurable effectiveness.
US Lifts Sanctions on Former Paraguay President Cartes
The United States has removed former Paraguayan president Horacio Cartes from its sanctions list, a shift that comes amid warmer ties between the Trump administration and President Santiago Peña’s conservative government, Bloomberg reported.
In Blow to Moscow, OFAC Imposes Sanctions on Serbia’s Main Oil Supplier
The United States has imposed sanctions on the Russia-controlled Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS), prompting warnings from Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić of “unforeseeable” consequences for the Balkan nation ahead of winter, the Associated Press reported.
Pope Leo Curbs Vatican Bank’s Role in Holy See Investments
Pope Leo XIV has approved new rules that redistribute control over the Holy See’s financial investments, diluting the exclusive authority the Vatican Bank has held since 2022 and formalizing a shared model of oversight across church institutions.