Iran’s Largest Crypto Exchange Is Closely Tied to Nation’s Elite
Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange was founded and is controlled by two brothers from the Kharrazi family, one of the Islamic Republic’s most influential clerical dynasties and now closely tied to new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
Even with Stronger Western Ties, Syria Is a Big Buyer of Russian Oil
Russia has emerged as Syria’s dominant oil supplier, with shipments rising about 75 percent to roughly 60,000 barrels per day this year despite Damascus’s pivot toward the West and lingering public anger over Moscow’s military backing of ousted leader Bashar al-Assad.
U.S. Blacklists Ex-DRC Leader Kabila over Alleged Support for Rebel Groups
The United States imposed sanctions on former Democratic Republic of the Congo President Joseph Kabila, accusing him of supporting armed groups that Washington says have fueled conflict and instability in eastern Congo.
Jury Convicts Ex-Lawmaker of Secretly Working for Venezuela
A federal jury on Friday convicted former Republican U.S. Rep. David Rivera of Florida and political consultant Esther Nuhfer of secretly working as foreign agents for Venezuela’s government in 2017 and 2018, capping a five-week trial that featured testimony from Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Trump’s Crypto Firm Struck Deal with Network Tied to Blacklisted Scam Group
World Liberty Financial, the Trump family-linked crypto venture, announced a deal in November to enable its USD1 stablecoin on a crypto network whose flagship resort project was controlled by two men the U.S. government had sanctioned weeks earlier as alleged operatives of an Asian scam ring.
Julius Baer Ordered to Rehire Staffer Who ID’d Potential Sanctions Violations
A German labor court has ruled that Julius Baer Group’s Frankfurt arm wrongly dismissed a manager who had raised internal concerns about alleged sanctions violations linked to the onboarding of clients from Iran and Russia.
OFAC Targets Iran ‘Rahbar’ Networks, Warns on China Refinery Risks
OFAC designated 35 entities and individuals it said help run Iran’s shadow-banking system, focusing on private companies known as “rahbars” that move money for sanctioned Iranian banks through foreign shell companies and front-company accounts.
U.S. Mint Bought Gold Mined by Blacklisted Drug Cartel
The United States Mint has for years purchased gold originating from illegal mines controlled by a Colombian drug cartel, violating a federal law requiring that its coins be made from newly mined American gold.
Russia-DPRK Alliance Poses Growing Threat to Sanctions Enforcement
A deepening military and economic partnership between North Korea and Russia is systematically undermining the international sanctions architecture built over decades to constrain Pyongyang, while fueling a conventional arms buildup that raises the risk of war on the Korean Peninsula.
Web of Shell Firms Tie Trump Operative to Russian Money in Albanian Politics
A network of shell companies tied to sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska helped finance an Albanian conservative party’s hiring of a former Donald Trump campaign operative ahead of Albania’s 2017 general election.