Illicit Finance

Waste crime and trafficking is expanding globally, fueled by profit incentives in a fast-growing waste-management industry and compounded by major blind spots in official data, according to a newly released report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). 

Newly released U.S. Justice Department emails and documents offer a deeper look at Jeffrey Epstein’s unusual relationship with JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Deutsche Bank AG courted, reports by Bloomberg and the Financial Times show. 

Australia’s booming cocaine consumption among affluent professionals has helped turn the country into the world’s unlikely cocaine capital, fueling criminal networks linked to murder, human trafficking, and extortion.

A senior U.S. senator has opened an inquiry into Binance seeking records on alleged transactions that funneled nearly $2 billion to Iran-linked terrorist organizations and other entities and payments that helped circumvent sanctions on Russian oil, Bloomberg said. 

The head of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed “Hemedti” Hamdan Dagalo, appears to own a portfolio of property in Dubai valued at approximately $1.7 million, according to new research by The Sentry. 

Cyber-enabled fraud is rapidly expanding in scale and sophistication as criminals exploit digital platforms, instant payments, and virtual assets to move illicit proceeds across borders, an intergovernmental watchdog said on Tuesday.  

Iran has agreed to a €500-million contract with Russia for thousands of shoulder-fired air-defense missiles, in a deal that underscores both countries’ willingness to deepen military trade despite intensifying western sanctions and arms-export restrictions.

Jeffrey Epstein held a retail current account and a savings account at BNP Paribas from 2008 until mid-2018, according to documents released by the U.S. Justice Department and reported by Le Monde. 

A surge in gold and silver prices is drawing organized-crime groups to Mexico’s mining sector, forcing companies to absorb rising security costs and, in some cases, make “protection” payments or use suppliers linked to criminal groups.

There has been visible discontent with Albania’s government in recent weeks, with protestors hurling petrol bombs at government buildings and calling out Prime Minister Edi Rama by name.