Illicit Finance

The United Kingdom on Tuesday imposed sanctions on 35 individuals and entities accused of trafficking vulnerable migrants to fight on Russia’s front line in Ukraine and of supplying components to the Kremlin’s drone manufacturing operations, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said.

ING Belgium has agreed to pay a €1.6 million settlement over alleged failures to report suspicious transactions linked to former European Commissioner Didier Reynders.

HSBC has booked a $400-million “fraud-related” charge tied to the collapse of UK bridging lender Market Financial Solutions, hitting first-quarter profits at Europe’s biggest bank and exposing one of the most material indirect transmission channels yet between private credit and a global systemically important lender.

Money laundering offenses in the Republic of Ireland have surged to unprecedented levels, with gardaí recording close to 2,800 cases last year and struggling to keep pace with the volume.

Denmark’s financial regulator has reported a local unit of Nordea Bank to police over suspected breaches of anti-money-laundering rules and asked authorities to open a criminal investigation, the authority disclosed Monday. 

China has for the first time invoked a law targeting companies that comply with foreign sanctions Beijing rejects, escalating its pushback against U.S. blacklisting of several oil refineries over purchases of Iranian crude.

Thousands of seemingly legitimate UK high street shops are being used by organized-crime groups to launder illicit cash, sell illegal goods, and feed wider criminal networks, with at least £47 billion a year drained from the British economy by the schemes.

A former Deutsche Bank executive who went public with allegations that the lender’s asset-management arm overstated its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) credentials has been denied a U.S. whistleblower award because regulators say they first learned of her claims through the press.

Elon Musk has agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) allegations that he cheated Twitter shareholders in 2022 by failing to properly disclose his growing stake in the social media company.

Thailand’s main international airport has become a reluctant hub in a sprawling illegal trade funneling wild animals to India, where social media “petfluencers” and exotic cafes are fueling a boom in demand for rare creatures.