Ex-Swedbank CEO’s 2024 Conviction Overturned by Swedish Supreme Court
Sweden’s Supreme Court has acquitted former Swedbank chief executive Birgitte Bonnesen, overturning the only prison conviction handed to a senior Nordic banker in connection with one of Europe’s biggest money-laundering scandals.
Cambodia’s Scam Economy Now Rivals Its Formal One
Cybercrime syndicates operating in Cambodia have grown so large and politically connected that the industry now rivals the country’s formal economy, with online scam networks accused of corrupting officials, enslaving workers, and defrauding victims around the world.
Suspicious Trades Have Become a Hallmark of Trump’s Second Term
Unusual bursts of trading across oil, equities, and prediction markets repeatedly appeared shortly before some of President Donald Trump’s most market-moving public statements.
A Decade on, Nordic Banks Emerge from Russian Money-Laundering Scandal
Nordic banks are finally beginning to move past the Baltic money-laundering scandal that engulfed the region’s financial sector, after nearly a decade of probes, fines, management upheaval, and costly compliance overhauls.
Five Banking Giants Tied to Alleged Iran Sanctions-Evasion Scheme
Five of the world’s largest banks have been drawn into allegations that they unwittingly processed payments tied to a sanctions-evasion and money-laundering scheme benefiting Iran.
Daniel Kinahan, One of Europe’s Most Wanted Criminals, Arrested in Dubai
Daniel Kinahan, the Irishman long alleged to be one of Europe’s leading organized-crime figures and drug traffickers, has been arrested in Dubai on an Irish warrant and is expected to be extradited to Ireland.
Drug Cartels are Changing Tactics and Routes in Response to U.S. Crackdown
South American governments are deploying soldiers, drones, sniffer dogs, artificial intelligence, and expanded port surveillance to try to stem a record flow of cocaine, but the crackdown is having little impact as traffickers change up routes and tactics.
A Powerful Opioid Made in India is Flooding into West Africa Illegally
Indian companies shipped more than 320 million tapentadol pills to West Africa over the past three years, even though the synthetic opioid has not been approved by regulators in most countries in the region, according to a Bellingcat investigation.
IMF Calls for Stronger Interbank Data-Sharing to Combat Rising Digital Fraud
The International Monetary Fund has urged banks to share more threat and transaction data with one another, arguing in a recent working paper that the sector’s response to fast-rising digital fraud is weakened by information silos within institutions and across borders.
Wife of Spanish PM to Stand Trial for Alleged Corruption, Embezzlement
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is facing renewed political pressure after a judge ordered his wife, Begoña Gómez, to stand trial, deepening a corruption controversy that already involves several of his relatives and close associates.