Moldovan Oligarch Heads to Prison for Role in ‘Theft of the Century’
A Moldovan court on Wednesday sentenced oligarch and former political leader Vladimir Plahotniuc to 19 years in prison for his role in a massive bank fraud scheme that siphoned funds from three lenders in 2014.
DOJ Hits Southern Poverty Law Center with Financial-Crime Charges
The U.S. Justice Department indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) on charges that the civil-rights organization fraudulently paid informants inside extremist groups and concealed those payments with bank accounts opened for nonexistent companies.
Cambodia’s Scam Economy Now Rivals Its Formal One
Cybercrime syndicates operating in Cambodia have grown so large and politically connected that the industry now rivals the country’s formal economy, with online scam networks accused of corrupting officials, enslaving workers, and defrauding victims around the world.
Suspicious Trades Have Become a Hallmark of Trump’s Second Term
Unusual bursts of trading across oil, equities, and prediction markets repeatedly appeared shortly before some of President Donald Trump’s most market-moving public statements.
ENRC Wants $168mn for Mishandled SFO Probe That Spanned a Decade
Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation is seeking more than $168 million in compensation from the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO), law firm Dechert, and former Dechert partner Neil Gerrard over losses it says arose from a decade-long criminal investigation.
IMF Calls for Stronger Interbank Data-Sharing to Combat Rising Digital Fraud
The International Monetary Fund has urged banks to share more threat and transaction data with one another, arguing in a recent working paper that the sector’s response to fast-rising digital fraud is weakened by information silos within institutions and across borders.
For Insurers, Phony Claims Now Come with AI-Altered Photos
Fraud appears to be worsening in the UK’s insurance sector, driven in large part by the submission of phony claims backed by AI-altered images.
Telegram Hosts a Sanctioned Marketplace Tied to Child Sex Trafficking, Forced Labor
Telegram is still hosting Xinbi Guarantee, a Chinese-language black market that British officials have levied sanctions on and accused of facilitating crypto scams and human trafficking.
SantaCon Organizer Faces Fraud Charges over Theft Allegations
The organizer of New York City’s annual SantaCon bar crawl was arrested on wire-fraud charges on Wednesday after federal prosecutors alleged he diverted money that was supposed to go to charity and used it instead for personal expenses.
Magyar’s New Task: Dismantling the ‘Party-State’ Without Destroying the State
Hungary’s incoming prime minister, Péter Magyar, is pledging to oversee a broad anti-corruption campaign once in office, including the creation of new watchdog bodies and investigations of government contracts.