Sanctions Evasion

Britain has expanded its crackdown on Southeast Asia’s scam economy by sanctioning Xinbi, a Chinese-language crypto marketplace that officials say helped service scam centers, along with Legend Innovation Co., the operator of Cambodia’s “#8 Park” compound, and six individuals allegedly tied to the network.

Binance failed for months to cut ties with a payment-processing vendor despite a series of red flags that pointed to possible sanctions evasion and money laundering involving transfers later linked to Iran.

China remains the destination for about 90 percent of Iranian crude exports despite a recent U.S. sanctions waiver intended to release previously restricted oil onto global markets.

It was a tiny Swiss bank, headquartered in an open-plan office close to Lake Zurich and little known abroad. But MBaer Merchant Bank AG would sometimes charge clients 10 times the normal rate to process payments.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has obtained a blue check mark on his official English-language X account, despite the social-media platform’s policy barring sanctioned individuals from purchasing its premium subscription service, CNBC reported.

President Donald Trump is facing bipartisan blowback after his administration temporarily eased sanctions on Iranian oil, a move that could allow Tehran to sell up to 140 million barrels now at sea and generate as much as $14 billion as oil prices surge during the U.S.-backed war against Iran.

The trial of former U.S. Congressman David Rivera started Monday in Miami as the Florida Republican faces charges that he illegally lobbied American officials on behalf of Venezuelan interests without registering as a foreign agent.

The United States may remove sanctions in the coming days on about 140 million barrels of Iranian oil stranded aboard tankers at sea, according to The Guardian, which cited recent comments by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

The U.S. Treasury Department said on Friday it had imposed sanctions on an international network of 16 people and companies that allegedly diverted more than $100 million to Hezbollah since 2020. 

A trader identified by The Wall Street Journal as a central figure in Russia’s shadow fleet has revived his oil business after the Iran war disrupted supplies from the Persian Gulf and boosted demand for Russian crude that had been stranded at sea.