When a U.S. Anti-Bribery Law Is a Statecraft Weapon, Not a Domestic Deterrent
Washington is increasingly turning U.S. anti-corruption enforcement into an instrument of economic statecraft—a shift that threatens to undercut decades of American efforts to fight illicit activity abroad.
U.S., Gulf Banks Brace for Cyberattacks as Iran Conflict Continues
U.S. banks have stepped up monitoring for potential cyberattacks as the U.S. war in Iran grinds on, while Gulf lenders face fresh questions over their preparedness for cyber activity tied to Iran-aligned hacktivists.
Lula’s Son Stripped of Bank-Secrecy Protections in Ongoing Fraud Case
A Brazilian Senate decision to strip bank- and tax-secrecy protections from President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s son has intensified political pressure on the leftist leader as lawmakers investigate an alleged fraud scheme inside the national pension system.
U.S. Military’s Growing Drug War Lands in Ecuador
The United States and Ecuador have begun joint military operations in the South American nation against “designated terrorist organizations,” the Pentagon said Tuesday night.
Will Dubai’s Business-Haven Brand Be a Casualty of War?
Dubai has cultivated an image as the safest haven for global capital in the Middle East, but Iranian strikes on the emirate are putting that image to a test.
Stablecoins Now Commonly Used in Illicit Finance, FATF Warns
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) said that stablecoins are now commonly used in money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing schemes, and warned that peer-to-peer transfers via unhosted wallets represent a key vulnerability for the crypto ecosystem.
UK Oversight of Professional Services Falls Short on Enforcement
The UK’s current system of supervisors overseeing the anti-money-laundering (AML) programs of law firms, accountancies, and other professional bodies is failing to take “sufficiently dissuasive disciplinary measures” against those that fail to meet compliance standards, according to a new report.
As Iran’s Crypto Outflows Spike, Its Hacking Groups Go Dark
As the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran continues, there’s a bit of split-screen in Iranian online activity at the moment. On the one screen, crypto usage has spiked sharply since the launch of the attacks. On the other, most of Iran’s state-sponsored cyber groups are nowhere to be found.
Kyrgyzstan Poised to Challenge EU Over Potential Russia Sanctions
Kyrgyzstan is prepared to take the European Union to court if Brussels imposes sanctions on the Central Asian state over allegations it has helped funnel restricted goods to Russia.
U.S. Slaps Sanctions on Rwanda Months After Ballyhooing Peace Accords
The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday imposed sanctions on Rwanda’s military and four senior officials, accusing them of backing the March 23 Movement (M23) armed group in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).