CFTC To Focus on Prediction Markets, Willful AML Violations
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will prioritize enforcement against insider trading in prediction markets, manipulation in energy markets, spoofing, retail fraud, and willful violations of anti-money-laundering (AML) laws, the agency’s new enforcement director said Tuesday.
UK Cargo Theft Is Worsening as Thieves See Low Risks for Big Rewards
Cargo theft in Britain is evolving into a high-yield criminal business that costs the economy about £700 million a year, as organized gangs target truckloads of food, alcohol, electronics, and consumer goods that can be quickly resold through online platforms and grey-market wholesalers.
Ex-Malaysian PM Razak Ordered to Pay $1.3 Billion to 1MDB Unit
A Malaysian court on Tuesday ordered jailed former Prime Minister Najib Razak to pay $1.3 billion to SRC International, a former unit of scandal-linked state fund 1MDB, after finding him liable for losses incurred by the company.
Hungary Secretly Worked with Russia to Water Down EU Sanctions
Hungary’s foreign minister privately shared sensitive European Union discussions with Russia and worked with Moscow to try to remove sanctioned Russian individuals, banks, and companies from EU blacklists.
U.S. Indicts Hacker Allegedly Behind $53-Million Uranium Finance Exploit
U.S. authorities have charged an alleged hacker in connection with a 2021 exploit of decentralized exchange Uranium Finance that drained about $53 million in crypto and helped force the platform to shut down.
U.S. Senators Want Answers on Sudden Departure of SEC Enforcer
Two Democratic U.S. senators pressed Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins on Monday to explain the abrupt resignation of the agency’s enforcement director and whether it was tied to the SEC’s pullback from cryptocurrency cases linked to Donald Trump.
Hungary Continues to Fall Short on Investigating Fraud, EU Data Shows
Hungary has recovered and returned less than a fifth of EU funds flagged for potential fraud over the past decade, according to data from the bloc’s anti-fraud watchdog reported by the Financial Times.
Trial Begins in France for Alleged ‘Magnitsky Affair’ Money Launderer
The trial of Russian businessman Dmitry Klyuev, accused by French prosecutors of laundering proceeds of the $230 million Magnitsky Affair fraud through luxury purchases in France, opened in Paris on Monday.
London Has Become an Important Destination for Iranian Funds
Iranian-linked wealth has continued to find its way into London property despite years of Western sanctions, with luxury homes, apartments, and a boutique hotel tied to figures accused by British and U.S. authorities of supporting Tehran’s sanctions-evasion networks.
U.S. Weighs Adding Brazilian Drug Gangs to Terrorist List
The Trump administration is weighing whether to designate Brazil’s two largest drug gangs as terrorist organizations, a step that could expand the U.S. sanctions toolkit to include financial restrictions on the groups and their associates.