Corruption

A former director at Trenchant, an L3Harris Technologies subsidiary that develops offensive cyber tools, pleaded guilty Wednesday to stealing and reselling trade secrets worth $35 million to a Russian broker whose clients include the Russian government, Bloomberg reported.

JPMorgan Chase will provide U.S.-dollar clearing services in Angola, becoming the first major American lender to reengage with the African nation following major corruption scandals and years of anti-money laundering (AML) compliance restrictions, Bloomberg reported.

Belgium is in danger of evolving into a “narco-state” as organized crime penetrates key institutions and exploits Antwerp’s giant port to smuggle cocaine into Europe, an investigating judge warned in an open letter cited by the Financial Times.

One of Mexico’s most powerful drug cartels is smuggling gasoline and diesel into the Port of Ensenada with the aid of a “dark fleet” tanker and a Houston-based company, according to an investigation by Reuters. 

A Peruvian judge declined a request to restrict former President Dina Boluarte from leaving the country while prosecutors investigate her for corruption and money laundering, Reuters reported. 

Three cargo vessels recently sanctioned by the EU for operating in Russia’s “shadow fleet” were quietly sold out of Syria’s state fleet in 2023 for $1 each to an offshore company in the Seychelles, according to new reporting by OCCRP and its Syrian partner SIRAJ. 

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.

One of the world’s oldest marketplaces is doubling as a modern hub for sanctions evasion and large-scale money laundering, according to experts who spoke to The New York Post.

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. 

Spanish authorities have seized property linked to Nikolai Kolesov, the chief executive of state-owned Russian Helicopters, on suspicion of money laundering, according to an anti-corruption group founded by the late Alexei Navalny.