Illicit Finance

Russian diamonds may be entering Australia through intermediaries and processing hubs despite sanctions on Moscow’s state-owned diamond giant Alrosa.

The UK unveiled its biggest Russia sanctions package in years on Tuesday, targeting Moscow’s shadow fleet and the key networks and infrastructure that have helped keep crude exports flowing since the start of the Russo-Ukrainian war.

Blockchain forensics firm Elliptic has identified four cryptocurrency exchanges that allegedly facilitate Russia sanctions evasion, including by helping to convert rubles into crypto-assets and move value across borders without the direct aid of traditional banking channels. 

A 42-year-old American citizen suspected by French investigators of leading a vast international money laundering network known as “Dark Bank” has been extradited from the United States to France, Le Monde reported.

Binance internal investigators found last year that about $1.7 billion in cryptocurrency flowed from two accounts on the exchange to Iranian entities with links to terrorist groups, raising potential violations of global sanctions.

The White House is weighing a new round of national-security tariffs on several industries after a Supreme Court ruling last week struck down many of President Trump’s second-term levies, The Wall Street Journal reported. 

Iran has agreed to a €500-million contract with Russia for thousands of shoulder-fired air-defense missiles, in a deal that underscores both countries’ willingness to deepen military trade despite intensifying western sanctions and arms-export restrictions.

Jeffrey Epstein held a retail current account and a savings account at BNP Paribas from 2008 until mid-2018, according to documents released by the U.S. Justice Department and reported by Le Monde. 

A surge in gold and silver prices is drawing organized-crime groups to Mexico’s mining sector, forcing companies to absorb rising security costs and, in some cases, make “protection” payments or use suppliers linked to criminal groups.

A blacklisted, former Belarusian official is working with Russia to disguise the origin of agricultural products from Ukraine’s occupied territories, according to new reporting by Ukrinform. The news agency, which is Ukraine’s only national news service and is controlled by the country’s Cabinet of Ministers, said it based its reporting on documents obtained by the Belarusian opposition group […]