Money Laundering | Certain Risk

Image of Mao on the Chinese yuan with two bitcoins over his eyes

Chinese-Language Networks are Playing a Bigger Role in Crypto Crime

Chinese-language money laundering networks have become a central conduit for illicit cryptocurrency activity, processing an estimated 20% of known on-chain laundering over the past five years and accelerating far faster than illicit financial flows tied to centralized exchanges.

Groundbreaking ceremony of a new hanger at the Pleasanton Airport in Pleasanton Texas, on May 28, 2025. The Master of Ceremonies is Ernie Gonzalez, Jr., and the speakers include Pleasanton City Manager Johnny Huizar, Pleasanton Airport Director J.J. Roberts, Cope Engineering Vice President Brian M. Cope, P.E., U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) Community Programs Director in Texas Michael Canales, U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar, and Pleasanton Mayor J.R. Gallegos. After speaking they took part in the groundbreaking ceremony. In 2022 U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) announced $1,061,000 in federal funding for the construction of two additional hangars at the Pleasanton Municipal Airport. The hangars will meet the growing aviation storage demand required by recreational and commercial customers as well as providing storage space for the local Air Life helicopter's support teams. Congressman Henry Cuellar said “Investments into rural communities and local infrastructure projects like these have far-reaching economic impacts and benefits. I applaud the City of Pleasanton and its leadership for taking advantage of the available federal funding opportunities and I look forward to continue working with them.” “We are very excited about this new addition to the city’s airport,” said Pleasanton City Manager Johnny Huizar. “These new airport hangars will fund themselves with revenue generated from aircraft lease fees.” The financed amount was later increased by $656,000 for a current total of $1,717,000. The funds were awarded through the United States Department of Agriculture’s USDA's Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program. More than 100 types of projects are eligible for Community Facilities funding. Eligible applicants include municipalities, public bodies, nonprofit organizations and federally recognized Native American tribes. Projects must be in rural areas. USDA Media by Lance Cheung.

Brother of U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar Hit with Federal Fraud Charges

A Texas sheriff who is the brother of U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar is facing federal fraud charges following allegations that he ran a fraudulent business using public funds and staff during the Covid-19 pandemic, The Texas Tribune reported.

Jack Zhang, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Airwallex, Australia speaking in the Start-Ups in Austerity session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2023 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 20 January. Congress Centre — Jack Zhang, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Airwallex, Attribution (CC-compliant): “World Economic Forum Annual Meeting” by World Economic Forum (credit: World Economic Forum/Sikarin Fon Thanachaiary), licensed under Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–ShareAlike 2.0 (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).

Airwallex Faces AML Audit over Concerns of Child Sex Abuse Funding

Australia’s financial intelligence unit has ordered Singapore-based Airwallex to review whether the payments giant has violated the nation’s anti-money laundering (AML) laws.

A photograph of a mural in Venezuela that reads "Chavez y Maduro X siempre"

Despite U.S. Push, Compliance Risks Remain Deterrent for Firms in Venezuela

President Donald Trump’s apparent green light for doing business in Venezuela is unlikely to prompt a rush of corporate investment, even if U.S. sanctions are rolled back, according to recent reporting by Dow Jones Risk Journal.

Photograph of The Swedbank office building in Tartu, Estonia, on 18 July 2024. — “Swedbank in Tartu Estonia” by Tony Webster, Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/diversey/54584627298/), licensed under CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/).

U.S. Justice Department Closes Swedbank Case without Enforcement

The U.S. Department of Justice has closed its anti-money laundering (AML) investigation into Swedbank AG without bringing an enforcement action, according to the Swiss lender.

Riad Salameh, economist and former Governor of Bank of Lebanon. — Riad Salameh

Lebanon Charges Ex-Central Bank Governor Over Alleged $45mn Embezzlement

Lebanese prosecutors have charged former central bank governor Riad Salameh with alleged embezzlement of $44.8 million, nearly ten months after a court decision to refer him to trial, according to OCCRP.

Photo of the CaixaBank building, Barcelona — Jordiferrer, “Torre de CaixaBank” (8 October 2011), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Torre_de_CaixaBank.jpg License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Edits: cropped and overlaid text/graphics.

Spain’s AML Watchdog Fines CaixaBank €30mn over Real-Estate Deal

CaixaBank has been hit with several fines totaling more than €30 million by Spain’s anti-money laundering watchdog, Sepblac, over a legacy real-estate transaction.

A display of various denominations of bank notes on a table. — Source: Europol

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.

Actor Kevin Spacey in a tuxedo, smiling. — “Kevin Spacey-9262.jpg” by Harald Krichel, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kevin_Spacey-9262.jpg Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Elite Portuguese Prosecutors Take Over Dirty-Crypto Probe into Spacey Producer

An elite unit of Portugal’s Public Prosecutor’s Office has taken over a money-laundering investigation involving Elvira Gavrilova Paterson, a Ukrainian movie producer who helped promote alleged crypto frauds linked to Russian entrepreneur Vladimir Okhotnikov, according to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

TD Bank local branch location. — “MTA Flatbush South 76 - TD Bank” by Tdorante10, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MTA_Flatbush_South_76_-_TD_Bank.jpg Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Ex-TD Bank Employee Pleads Guilty to Helping Launder $474 Million

A former TD Bank employee pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder monetary instruments after prosecutors said he used his position to help a money-laundering network move hundreds of millions of dollars through the institution.