Legal | Certain Risk

A photo of a tower of the The Star Brisbane in Australia.

Ex-Star CEO Faces Millions in Fines for AML Lapses

Star Entertainment’s ex-chief executive Matthias Bekier and former in-house lawyer Paula Martin breached their directors’ duties during the casino operator’s “Chinese money-laundering era”, the Australian Federal Court found.

Citigroup London office tower — London MMB »1W7 CitiGroup Centre by mattbuck, licensed under [CC BY-SA 2.0-Share Alike Generic]. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Edited version used.

Did Citi’s Internal Security Unit Help Quash Compliance Concerns?

Citigroup faces troubling allegations that an in-house security unit comprised of former law-enforcement officials penalized two compliance staffers who came forward with regulatory concerns and helped defend the institution against a lawsuit by a former employee.

Ala-Too Square in front of the State Historical Museum features a flagpole flying a large Kyrgyzstan flag. The circle with the red cross is a stylized depiction of the tündük or crown which forms the center hole in the roof of the traditional Kyrgyz yurt. The sun has forty rays for the forty regional clans that rose against the Uighurs in the 9th century under the leadership of Manas. Kyrgyz means ‘we are forty.’ The red background symbolizes bravery and valor, the sun symbolizes peace and wealth, and the tündük symbolizes the family home. — “20141011_Kyrgyzstan_1280 Bishkek” by Dan Lundberg, via Flickr, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/). This image has been edited from the original. Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9508280@N07/16258087845/

Kyrgyzstan Poised to Challenge EU Over Potential Russia Sanctions

Kyrgyzstan is prepared to take the European Union to court if Brussels imposes sanctions on the Central Asian state over allegations it has helped funnel restricted goods to Russia.

Francesca Albanese in Bogotá, Colombia, July 2025

Family of U.N. Official Sue U.S. in Fight Against Controversial SDN Sanctions

The family of Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for Palestine, sued President Trump and senior U.S. officials on Wednesday, challenging sanctions imposed on her over her advocacy for the prosecution of Israeli leaders and international companies connected to the war in Gaza.

A photo of Barclays HQ in New York City. — Attribution (TASL): “Barclays - NYC Headquarters (48105882878)” by Ajay Suresh (20 June 2019), adapted by you, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons.

HSBC and Barclays Face $12bn Lawsuit Linked to Epstein and Jersey Trust

HSBC and Barclays are facing a $12-billion civil lawsuit involving a now-defunct Jersey trust that has been linked in proposed U.S. legislation to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, The Times reported.

Photo of James Dimon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, JPMorgan Chase at the Annual Meeting 2013 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 23, 2013. — “The Global Financial Context: James Dimon” — World Economic Forum / swiss-image.ch (Photo: Remy Steinegger), licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Global_Financial_Context_James_Dimon.jpg License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/ Changes: none

Trump Sues JPMorgan, Jamie Dimon over Alleged ‘Woke’ Debanking

President Donald Trump sued JPMorgan Chase and CEO Jamie Dimon on Thursday, alleging the bank closed his and related entities’ accounts for political reasons following the Jan. 6, 2021 riots at the U.S. Capitol, CNBC reported.

UK Law Firms Brace for Tougher AML Regime Under FCA Oversight

UK law firms are preparing for more stringent oversight of their anti-money laundering (AML) programs after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) was designated as the compliance supervisor for the legal sector, The Guardian reported.

Mikhail Fridman speaking in to a microphone. — “Mikhail Fridman” by Anton Nosik, edited by Certain Risk, CC BY 3.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ ; source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mikhail_Fridman_by_Anton_Nossik.JPG

Russian Oligarchs are Using European Treaties to Sue Ukraine for Vast Sums

Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman and other oligarchs are exploiting European investment treaties to sue Ukraine for hundreds of millions, and in some cases billions, of dollars, according to a new investigation by Follow the Money.

Russian mobil missile launcher with launch tube extended. — Image credit: “Army-2023 vehicle showcase 08” by Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (Mil.ru), via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Army-2023_vehicle_showcase_08.jpg, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).

U.S. Microchip Makers Sued Over Alleged Role in Russian Attacks on Ukrainians

Major U.S. chipmakers Intel, Advanced Micro Devices and Texas Instruments, along with a Warren Buffett–owned electronics distributor, are facing a series of lawsuits accusing them of failing to prevent their semiconductors from ending up in Russian missiles and drones used to attack civilians in Ukraine.

Standard Chartered signage on exterior of building. — Image credit: Adapted from “HK Central 中環政府山 - 炮台里 Pattery Path Dec 2018 SSG 05” by WOINGA Famoied ORBELELM, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HK_Central_%E4%B8%AD%E7%92%B0%E6%94%BF%E5%BA%9C%E5%B1%B1_-_%E7%82%AE%E5%8F%B0%E9%87%8C_Pattery_Path_Dec_2018_SSG_05.jpg, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made.

Standard Chartered Settles £1.5bn Lawsuit Over Sanctions Liability

Standard Chartered has settled a £1.5-billion investor lawsuit in London that alleged the bank downplayed the scale of its Iran sanctions breaches and misled shareholders about its compliance controls, the Financial Times said.