Law Enforcement

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) is facing a sharp rise in suspected fraud linked to the EU’s pandemic recovery fund, with estimated losses tied to the program approaching €5 billion, Follow the Money reported, citing figures in the office’s annual report released Monday.

Luxembourg authorities raided the premises of EFG Bank last week as part of a preliminary investigation into the institution’s compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) and counterterrorism financing (CTF) laws.

Peter Mandelson is facing scrutiny from the EU anti-fraud office after the European Commission asked investigators to examine his conduct during his tenure as the bloc’s trade commissioner.

Germany will overhaul its core federal security agencies and deploy artificial intelligence as part of a crackdown on organized crime, related money laundering, and other financial crimes, Reuters reported Wednesday. 

A hacker exploited Anthropic PBC’s Claude chatbot to help breach multiple Mexican government agencies and steal a large trove of sensitive data, including tax and voter information.

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. 

A 42-year-old American citizen suspected by French investigators of leading a vast international money laundering network known as “Dark Bank” has been extradited from the United States to France, Le Monde reported.

Crime boss Kazem Hamad has taken a major financial stake in the Manchester tobacco company in Dubai, cementing his cartel’s control over Australia’s illicit cigarette market from manufacturing and smuggling through to retail sales in suburban shops.

Belgian prosecutors have charged two people close to former European Commissioner Didier Reynders as part of a money-laundering investigation that until now had focused on Reynders alone.

Ukraine’s anti-corruption authorities on Monday accused former energy minister German Galushchenko of laundering millions of dollars in kickbacks in a high-profile corruption case that has shaken the wartime government.