OFAC Expands Sanctions Waiver on Russia Oil Sales
The U.S. Treasury Department has issued a second temporary authorization allowing buyers to take delivery of Russian oil cargoes already at sea, broadening a waiver granted last week to India alone as Washington seeks to ease pressure on crude prices during the ongoing conflict in Iran.
Hungary Returns Armored Vehicles to Kyiv but Keeps Seized Ukrainian Loot
Hungary returned two seized armored bank vehicles to Ukraine on Thursday but continued to hold cash and gold worth about $82 million as part of an alleged money-laundering investigation.
Senate Democrats Call for Hearing on OFAC’s Russian Oil Sanctions Waiver
Senate Democrats are pressing for a congressional hearing on the Trump administration’s decision to ease sanctions on Russian oil, arguing that the step could benefit Moscow even as the Kremlin is providing support for Iranian forces.
West Africa’s Growing Role in the Global Cocaine Supply Chain
West Africa has become a major and expanding logistics, warehousing, and redistribution hub in the global cocaine trade, with the market in the region larger than ever and increasingly damaging to public health, governance, and security.
Could Guyana Become South America’s Next Drug Hub?
Guyana’s rapid economic expansion and new port development could make the country a more important cocaine transshipment point as U.S. military strikes in and near Venezuela disrupt established trafficking routes.
Russia’s Latest Shadow-Fleet Cargo: GRU Veterans and Wagner Mercenaries
Russian military veterans, including former Wagner mercenaries and men linked to the GRU, have been deployed aboard tankers in Moscow’s “shadow fleet” moving sanctioned oil through the Baltic Sea.
To Russia, With Postage: How to Ship Banned Goods from Berlin to Moscow
A German logistics company has exploited gaps in European postal and customs rules to move sanctioned goods from Germany to Russia, undermining the EU’s effort to choke off supplies to Moscow.
Newly Launched Database Traces Web of Conflicts at White House
An investigative news outlet on Thursday launched a searchable online database containing nearly 3,200 financial disclosure records for more than 1,500 Trump-appointed federal officials, detailing extensive financial ties between senior members of the administration and the industries they regulate.
U.S. Treasury Eases Restrictions on Russian Oil Sales as Crude Costs Rise
The United States is temporarily easing sanctions on Russian oil sales to India with a 30-day waiver aimed at preventing supply shortages and cushioning a sharp rise in crude prices after U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran.
AI Increasingly Used to Dodge Economic and Trade Sanctions
Artificial intelligence is making sanctions and export-control evasion schemes harder to detect by enabling the creation of realistic fake companies and phony documentation used to obviate international trade restrictions.