Money Laundering

Financial-crime authorities across the Middle East and North Africa hold powers that look adequate on paper but fail in practice, with anti-corruption agencies unable to freeze assets, prosecutors acting as political gatekeepers, and high-risk sectors filing almost no suspicious activity reports.

Brazilian lawmaker and presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro negotiated $24 million in financing from jailed banker Daniel Vorcaro to bankroll a biographical film about his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro.

Jho Low, the fugitive Malaysian financier accused of masterminding the multibillion-dollar 1MDB fraud, has submitted a request for a presidential pardon to U.S. President Donald Trump.

Multiple major German banks have abruptly frozen the accounts of Russian and Belarusian nationals living in Germany, demanding fresh proof of residency and leaving long-term customers without access to their money.

Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies have named former presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak as an official suspect in a 460-million-hryvnia ($10.5 million) money-laundering scheme, marking a significant escalation in a graft investigation that has shaken President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government.

Australia’s financial intelligence agency on Friday launched two supervisory campaigns targeting the country’s virtual assets sector, stepping up oversight of crypto businesses ahead of sweeping AML reforms, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) said in a statement.

Monaco’s financial markets watchdog has fined UBS €6 million for “numerous serious breaches” in anti-money-laundering and counterterrorism financing controls.

Ecuador’s financial regulators have launched a joint probe into possible money laundering at Banco Guayaquil, the country’s third-largest bank by net profit.

Brazilian federal police are targeting Senator Ciro Nogueira, a powerful ally of former President Jair Bolsonaro, as part of an expanding probe into the failed Banco Master.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has removed Singapore from its enhanced follow-up list but the city-state’s beneficial-ownership safeguards, money-laundering prosecutions, and proliferation-financing controls are still falling short of the risks it faces as one of the world’s largest financial centers.