Bill Would Take on Criminals Seeking to Circumvent AML Laws
Two U.S. senators reintroduced a bipartisan bill that would subject informal-value transfers and blank checks to anti-financial crime laws and strengthen the hand of prosecutors pursuing money-laundering charges.
DOJ Turns Sights on Mexican Brokers and Crypto Networks Used to Launder Drug Money
The U.S. Justice Department is increasingly targeting corrupt Mexican money brokers in an attempt to disrupt the financial networks used to launder cartel drug proceeds via cryptocurrency and other means, the Associated Press reported.
Spain’s Top Economic-Crimes Cop and Royal Scion Accused of Running Drug Ring
A Spanish police corruption investigation has widened into a narcotics and money-laundering scandal that links a senior economic-crimes investigator and a son of the Duke of Seville to an international drug-trafficking ring, The Times reported.
EPPO Launches Investigation into Customs Fraud, Corruption at the Port of Antwerp
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) has launched an investigation into suspected customs fraud, corruption and document forgery linked to operations in the Port of Antwerp, alleging a scheme that caused an estimated €11.3 million in lost EU import duties.
Mexican Drug Traffickers’ Latest Illicit Good: Vape Pens
Mexico’s sweeping crackdown on electronic cigarettes is accelerating a shift in the country’s $1.5-billion vape-pen market toward organized crime, according to ABC News.
Spain Targets Nigeria’s ‘Black Axe’ Network in Criminal Crackdown
Spanish National Police, working with Germany’s Bavarian State Criminal Police Office and supported by Europol, arrested 34 people in Spain during an operation against the international criminal organization known as “Black Axe,” Europol announced.
DOJ Quietly Drops Claim Maduro-Led ‘Terrorist’ Group Exists
Amid all of the spectacle that has come with the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, federal prosecutors have quietly amended a key claim they leveled against the South American leader last year. They no longer assert that the drug-trafficking organization he allegedly led—“Cartel de los Soles”—really exists.
U.S. to Designate Venezuelan Government as Terror Group, Blockade Sanctioned Oil Tankers
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday vowed to designate Venezuela’s government a “Foreign Terrorist Organization” (FTO) and ordered a “total and complete” blockade of sanctioned oil tankers moving into and out of the country.
In U.S. Migrant Crackdown, a Renewed Focus on Cross-Border Remittances
The United States is tightening its oversight of the tens of billions of dollars resident and undocumented migrants send home each year through Western Union, MoneyGram, and other money services businesses (MSBs), according to a recent U.S. Treasury Department warning.
Mexico Freezes Funds of Miss Universe Co-Owner in Organized-Crime Probe
Mexico’s anti-money laundering unit has frozen the bank accounts of Raúl Rocha Cantú, the Mexican co-owner of the Miss Universe Organization, as authorities investigate alleged links to drug, fuel and arms trafficking, the Associated Press reported.
