Pardoned and Poolside: Zhao Returns to U.S. for Crypto Summit
Changpeng Zhao, the founder of crypto exchange Binance who was pardoned by President Trump in October, returned to the U.S. this week and attended a Trump-backed crypto conference alongside the president’s sons and senior administration officials.
‘Absolutely F***ing Nuts’: Ex-Honduran Leader Got Free Waldorf Stay After Pardon
Last December, the Trump administration moved swiftly to free former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández after President Donald Trump granted him an unexpected pardon for his 2024 conviction on bribery and drug-trafficking charges. Few would’ve predicted what happened next.
Epstein Revelations Spur Criminal Investigations and an Ex-Royal Arrest
The fallout of the release of the Epstein Files continued this week, with emergence of new details of the deceased sex trafficker’s finances, the launch of additional investigations into suspicious money flows and related sexual-abuse allegations, and the arrest of a former British royal.
Florida Officials Put Sanctions Pressure on Businesses with Cuban Ties
South Florida Republican officials are pressing for tougher scrutiny of businesses that send goods or provide services linked to Cuba, the Miami Herald reported.
U.S. Oversight of MSBs is Weakest in Years as Crypto Usage Surges
Cryptocurrency usage is surging in the United States. You wouldn’t know that from the number of federal examiners tasked with supervising the industry for anti-money-laundering (AML) compliance though.
Two Associates of Ex-EU Commissioner Charged as Dirty-Money Probe Grows
Belgian prosecutors have charged two people close to former European Commissioner Didier Reynders as part of a money-laundering investigation that until now had focused on Reynders alone.
Hurley Set to Exit Treasury Amid Dispute over Sanctions Policy
The top Trump administration official leading U.S. sanctions policy and the nation’s financial intelligence unit is set to exit the role amid friction with his boss, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
OFAC Clears Way for New Oil-and-Gas Projects in Venezuela
The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Friday issued a general license clearing the way for certain large oil companies to invest in new operations in Venezuela.
Kuwait and Papua New Guinea Make FATF’s ‘Grey List’
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) added Kuwait and Papua New Guinea to its “grey list” of countries under closer monitoring, saying both have pledged to fix weaknesses in their safeguards against illicit money flows.
Is Elon Musk’s X Violating U.S. Sanctions on Iran? The Blue Checkmarks Say ‘Yes’
Elon Musk’s social-media company, X, appears to have violated U.S. sanctions by selling “Premium” subscriptions to accounts linked to Iranian government officials and state entities, according to a Tech Transparency Project (TTP) report.