Fighting Drug Cartels is Now Centerpiece of U.S. Counterterrorism Strategy
President Donald Trump has signed off on a new U.S. counterterrorism strategy that makes eliminating drug cartels in the Western Hemisphere the administration’s highest priority, the White House announced Wednesday.
FATF Sees Progress, Gaps, and Growing Risks in Latest Singapore MER
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has removed Singapore from its enhanced follow-up list but the city-state’s beneficial-ownership safeguards, money-laundering prosecutions, and proliferation-financing controls are still falling short of the risks it faces as one of the world’s largest financial centers.
AUSTRAC Launches Probe into Bookmaker Tabcorp’s AML Program
Tabcorp, Australia’s biggest listed bookmaker, disclosed that the country’s financial-crimes watchdog AUSTRAC has opened a formal investigation into whether it was complying with anti-money-laundering (AML) rules and properly monitoring its customers.
Hungarian Police Freeze Accounts of Top Orbán-Era Media Mogul
Hungarian police have opened a misappropriation and money-laundering investigation into the companies of Gyula Balásy, one of the country’s most prominent media and advertising figures and a long-time architect of Viktor Orbán’s government propaganda campaigns.
Chinese Firms ‘Brazenly’ Sell Drone Components Banned by U.S. Sanctions
Small, little-known Chinese companies are openly marketing and shipping engines, batteries, fiber-optic cables, and other dual-use components to Iranian and Russian drone factories despite U.S. sanctions.
One of Mexico’s Most Powerful Cartels is Using TikTok to Recruit Members
A network of TikTok accounts utilizing coded emojis, faction nicknames, and narco ballads are advertising the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) in an apparent attempt to recruit new members for one of Mexico’s most powerful criminal organizations, according to a report released this week by social-media analysis firm Graphika.
ING Belgium Pays €1.6mn for Failing to Flag Reynders’ Suspicious Activity
ING Belgium has agreed to pay a €1.6 million settlement over alleged failures to report suspicious transactions linked to former European Commissioner Didier Reynders.
Number of Money Laundering Cases at All-Time High in Ireland
Money laundering offenses in the Republic of Ireland have surged to unprecedented levels, with gardaí recording close to 2,800 cases last year and struggling to keep pace with the volume.
Denmark’s FSA Refers Nordea Unit to Police over AML Concerns
Denmark’s financial regulator has reported a local unit of Nordea Bank to police over suspected breaches of anti-money-laundering rules and asked authorities to open a criminal investigation, the authority disclosed Monday.
China Invokes Counter-Sanctions Law in Response to OFAC Measures
China has for the first time invoked a law targeting companies that comply with foreign sanctions Beijing rejects, escalating its pushback against U.S. blacklisting of several oil refineries over purchases of Iranian crude.