PEPs | Certain Risk

Party boats at anchor in Grand Turk harbour. In the background is the wreck of the Mega One Triton, grounded in 2002 during hurrican e Sandy.

A Landmark Turks-and-Caicos Trial Ends in Conviction of Ex-Premier

A massive corruption trial that spanned a decade ended last week in Turks and Caicos with the convictions of the jurisdiction’s former premier, his brother, and a one-time governmental minister, the Miami Herald said.

Photo of a full tequila shot glass with a lemon wedge atop.

Mayor of Tequila Arrested in Mexican Corruption Sweep Targeting Cartel-Linked Extortion

The mayor of Tequila, the small Jalisco city widely regarded as the birthplace of bottled tequila, was arrested by Mexican authorities Thursday along with three other municipal officials accused of extorting beer and tequila companies, according to The New York Times.

President Donald Trump meets with Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)

Top Democrat to Probe Trump’s $500m Crypto Deal with UAE ‘Spy Sheik’

A top Democratic lawmaker has opened a congressional probe into the $500-million investment deal between representatives of Abu Dhabi’s “spy sheik” and the Trump family’s crypto firm World Liberty Financial, The Wall Street Journal reported.

A 2019 photo of Francisco de Borbon von Hardenberg. — “Francisco de Borbon von Hardenberg.jpg” by Jeremiae, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Edited from the original.

Spain’s Top Economic-Crimes Cop and Royal Scion Accused of Running Drug Ring

A Spanish police corruption investigation has widened into a narcotics and money-laundering scandal that links a senior economic-crimes investigator and a son of the Duke of Seville to an international drug-trafficking ring, The Times reported.

Iran's Supreme Ayatollah Khamenei on the anniversary of Eid al-Fitr of the Prophet of Mercy, Hazrat Mohammad Mustafa — “Khamenei.ir, ‘Meeting of different segments of the people on the anniversary of the mission of the Great Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) 2 (khamenei.ir, 2026)’ (photo, taken Jan. 16, 2026), via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).”

U.S. Investigates Sharp Rise in Iran’s Crypto Activity

U.S. investigators are examining whether specific cryptocurrency platforms have helped Iranian officials and state-linked actors evade sanctions as crypto activity in Iran surges, a blockchain researcher with direct knowledge of Treasury’s concerns told Reuters.

Rep. Chuck Grassley asks U.S. Customs and Border Protection Acting Deputy Commissioner Ronald D. Vitiello questions during testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration, during a hearing entitled "Building America's Trust through Border Security: Progress on the Southern Border" in Washington, D.C., May 23, 2017. U.S. Customs and Border Protection Photo by Glenn Fawcett

Probe Turns Up New Historical Ties Between Credit Suisse and Nazis, Senator Says

A U.S. senator said late Monday that an ongoing investigation into Credit Suisse’s historical ties to Nazi Germany has identified “hundreds” of accounts with potential links to Nazi-era officials and industrialists, including fresh evidence of the bank’s relationship with the SS, Bloomberg reported.

On Tuesday, President Trump hosted the UAE National Security Advisor, @hhtbzayed, for a meeting in the Oval Office followed by dinner with @VP Vance and several members of the Cabinet. The UAE National Security Advisor, who was visiting Washington at the direction of the UAE President, HH Sheikh @MohamedBinZayed, was joined by an extensive delegation including the heads of major UAE Sovereign Wealth Funds and corporations.

UAE Royal Bought Stake in Trump’s World Liberty Ahead of Controversial AI-Chip Deal

An Abu Dhabi royal secretly backed a $500-million deal to buy nearly half of a Trump-linked cryptocurrency venture months before the United Arab Emirates secured expanded access to tightly controlled U.S. artificial-intelligence chips, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Photo of Deutsche Bank's headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. — “FRA Deutsche Bank.jpg” — Nordenfan, via Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) — Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FRA_Deutsche_Bank.jpg

Deutsche Bank Raid Focused on Same Years as Earlier BVI Probe

German authorities raided Deutsche Bank’s headquarters in Frankfurt and a separate office in Berlin as part of a money-laundering investigation linked to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.

A photo of a Bank of Scotland branch in Halifax — “Bank of Scotland Halifax” — Secret Pilgrim, via Flickr — CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/) — Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/umdrums/2828957108 — Edited from the original.

Bank of Scotland Fined £160,000 for Failing to Flag Blacklisted Putin Ally

The UK’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has levied a £160,000 monetary penalty on Lloyds Banking Group for violations of Russia sanctions made by its subsidiary Bank of Scotland Plc.

Groundbreaking ceremony of a new hanger at the Pleasanton Airport in Pleasanton Texas, on May 28, 2025. The Master of Ceremonies is Ernie Gonzalez, Jr., and the speakers include Pleasanton City Manager Johnny Huizar, Pleasanton Airport Director J.J. Roberts, Cope Engineering Vice President Brian M. Cope, P.E., U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) Community Programs Director in Texas Michael Canales, U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar, and Pleasanton Mayor J.R. Gallegos. After speaking they took part in the groundbreaking ceremony. In 2022 U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) announced $1,061,000 in federal funding for the construction of two additional hangars at the Pleasanton Municipal Airport. The hangars will meet the growing aviation storage demand required by recreational and commercial customers as well as providing storage space for the local Air Life helicopter's support teams. Congressman Henry Cuellar said “Investments into rural communities and local infrastructure projects like these have far-reaching economic impacts and benefits. I applaud the City of Pleasanton and its leadership for taking advantage of the available federal funding opportunities and I look forward to continue working with them.” “We are very excited about this new addition to the city’s airport,” said Pleasanton City Manager Johnny Huizar. “These new airport hangars will fund themselves with revenue generated from aircraft lease fees.” The financed amount was later increased by $656,000 for a current total of $1,717,000. The funds were awarded through the United States Department of Agriculture’s USDA's Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program. More than 100 types of projects are eligible for Community Facilities funding. Eligible applicants include municipalities, public bodies, nonprofit organizations and federally recognized Native American tribes. Projects must be in rural areas. USDA Media by Lance Cheung.

Brother of U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar Hit with Federal Fraud Charges

A Texas sheriff who is the brother of U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar is facing federal fraud charges following allegations that he ran a fraudulent business using public funds and staff during the Covid-19 pandemic, The Texas Tribune reported.