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.
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.
FTC Tells Payment Processors that ‘Debanking’ Could Lead to Penalties
The Federal Trade Commission has warned four of the largest payment processors against denying customers access to financial services because of their political or religious views.
An Opaque of Web of Loans Raises Due-Diligence Questions in MFS Collapse
The collapse of British property lender Market Financial Solutions (MFS) is exposing what Bloomberg described as an alleged collateral fraud that may leave lenders facing as much as £1.3 billion in losses and is raising new concerns about due diligence in private credit.
Ukraine Bankers Say They Were Beaten, Injected via IV While Detained in Hungary
New details have emerged about the seizure of two armored bank vehicles by Hungarian officials earlier this month, including allegations that the then-detained Ukrainian bank workers were beaten and injected with an unknown substance.
Even with U.S. Waiver, Iran’s Oil Heads for China
China remains the destination for about 90 percent of Iranian crude exports despite a recent U.S. sanctions waiver intended to release previously restricted oil onto global markets.
Scott Bessent Wants to Model the Fed After the Bank of England
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has discussed ways to tighten the Treasury’s oversight of the Federal Reserve by borrowing elements from the Bank of England model, in a move that could significantly reshape the central bank’s relationship with the government.
Iran War Gives Russia Trade Leverage with Critical Fertilizer Market
Russia is reaping a financial windfall from the U.S.-Israel war against Iran, as supply disruptions in the Middle East drive up global fertilizer prices and sharpen debate in Europe over whether to ease curbs on Russian exports.
Edmond de Rothschild Bank’s Paris Office Searched in Epstein Probe
French financial prosecutors searched the Paris offices of private bank Edmond de Rothschild last week as part of an investigation into suspected bribery involving former employee and diplomat Fabrice Aidan, in a case linked to documents from the Jeffrey Epstein files.