OFAC Warns on Sham Transfers in Sanctions-Evasion Schemes
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.
Ex-Malaysian PM Razak Ordered to Pay $1.3 Billion to 1MDB Unit
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 Secretly Worked with Russia to Water Down EU Sanctions
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.
UK Fines Apple $500,000 for Russia Sanctions Violations
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.
Trial Begins in France for Alleged ‘Magnitsky Affair’ Money Launderer
The trial of Russian businessman Dmitry Klyuev, accused by French prosecutors of laundering proceeds of the $230 million Magnitsky Affair fraud through luxury purchases in France, opened in Paris on Monday.
U.S. Weighs Adding Brazilian Drug Gangs to Terrorist List
The Trump administration is weighing whether to designate Brazil’s two largest drug gangs as terrorist organizations, a step that could expand the U.S. sanctions toolkit to include financial restrictions on the groups and their associates.
UBS Moved Millions for Ghislaine Maxwell After 2019 Subpoena
UBS AG processed an $8-million transfer for Ghislaine Maxwell in late 2019 that ultimately helped fund the cash purchase of the New Hampshire estate where she later went into hiding before her 2020 arrest.
An Opaque of Web of Loans Raises Due-Diligence Questions in MFS Collapse
The collapse of British property lender Market Financial Solutions (MFS) is exposing what Bloomberg described as an alleged collateral fraud that may leave lenders facing as much as £1.3 billion in losses and is raising new concerns about due diligence in private credit.
He Raised Money for Tech Breakthroughs. Some Say He Pocketed It Instead.
An entrepreneur who used ties to prominent academics to raise nearly $27 million for a cluster of startups ran what U.S. regulators described as an “IP-rich” and “Ponzi-like” scheme that recycled new investor money to repay earlier backers while funding a lavish personal lifestyle.
Ukraine Bankers Say They Were Beaten, Injected via IV While Detained in Hungary
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.