U.S. Threatens Venezuela’s New Leader with Criminal Charges
The Trump administration is drafting a criminal indictment to potentially accuse Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodriguez of corruption and money laundering.
Illicit Finance
When a U.S. Anti-Bribery Law Is a Statecraft Weapon, Not a Domestic Deterrent
Washington is increasingly turning U.S. anti-corruption enforcement into an instrument of economic statecraft—a shift that threatens to undercut decades of American efforts to fight illicit activity abroad.
U.S., Gulf Banks Brace for Cyberattacks as Iran Conflict Continues
U.S. banks have stepped up monitoring for potential cyberattacks as the U.S. war in Iran grinds on, while Gulf lenders face fresh questions over their preparedness for cyber activity tied to Iran-aligned hacktivists.
Malaysian Watchdog Agency Probes $280mln Deal with Arm Holdings
Malaysia’s troubled anti-graft agency is probing a $280-million deal between the Malaysian government and British chip giant Arm Holdings, Agence France-Presse reported.
Lula’s Son Stripped of Bank-Secrecy Protections in Ongoing Fraud Case
A Brazilian Senate decision to strip bank- and tax-secrecy protections from President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s son has intensified political pressure on the leftist leader as lawmakers investigate an alleged fraud scheme inside the national pension system.
U.S. Military’s Growing Drug War Lands in Ecuador
The United States and Ecuador have begun joint military operations in the South American nation against “designated terrorist organizations,” the Pentagon said Tuesday night.
Stablecoins Now Commonly Used in Illicit Finance, FATF Warns
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) said that stablecoins are now commonly used in money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing schemes, and warned that peer-to-peer transfers via unhosted wallets represent a key vulnerability for the crypto ecosystem.
As Iran’s Crypto Outflows Spike, Its Hacking Groups Go Dark
As the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran continues, there’s a bit of split-screen in Iranian online activity at the moment. On the one screen, crypto usage has spiked sharply since the launch of the attacks. On the other, most of Iran’s state-sponsored cyber groups are nowhere to be found.
Panel Probing Malaysia’s MACC ‘Mafia’ Set to Release Findings
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said a special committee investigating anti-graft chief Azam Baki’s shareholdings is expected to release its findings soon, Bloomberg said.
Money Launderers Have Made ‘Dramatic’ Turn to Crypto in Recent Years
Western governments are being urged to tighten controls on cryptocurrency after new research warned that criminals and hostile states have laundered an estimated $350 billion using crypto over the past two decades.