Year: 2025

Belgian Authorities Charge Ex-EU Justice Chief for Money Laundering

Money Laundering
Belgian authorities charged former Belgian Deputy Prime Minister—who also served as the EU Commissioner for Justice—Didier Reynders with money laundering, involving around one million euros in liquid cash found in his bank account. According to reports by Le Soir and Dutch investigative news outlet Follow The Money, Reynders was interrogated on October 16 in connection with unexplained cash deposits totaling approximately 700,000 euros ($803,098), which authorities allege he made into an ING Bank account between 2008 and 2018. His wife, Bernadette Prignon, was also reportedly questioned but has not been charged. Reynders’ lawyer, André Renette, confirmed in a statement seen…

Shortcomings in Money Laundering Prevention Lead to €45 Million Fine for J.P. Morgan

Money Laundering, Prosecutions
Germany’s financial watchdog has fined J.P. Morgan €45 million after identifying widespread failures in the bank’s processes for reporting suspicious transactions, according to a notice from the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). The Frankfurt-based institution was found to have “culpably breached” its supervisory obligations related to internal controls designed to detect and report potential money laundering. BaFin said that, between October 4, 2021, and September 30, 2022, the bank systematically failed to submit suspicious transaction reports to the German Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) without undue delay, a core requirement under Germany’s Money Laundering Act (Geldwäschegesetz). The enforcement action became final…

Europe-Wide Crackdown Targets Crypto Fraud, 600M Euros Stolen

Digital Currencies, Fraud
Authorities across Europe dismantled a massive cryptocurrency fraud and money laundering network, arresting nine suspects in a coordinated operation spanning Cyprus, Spain, and Germany. The network allegedly scammed hundreds of victims out of more than 600 million euros ($688.9 million), Eurojust, the European Union’s judicial cooperation hub, said Tuesday. The suspects reportedly created dozens of fake crypto investment platforms that mimicked legitimate websites and promised high returns. Victims were recruited through social media ads, cold calls, fake news articles, and fabricated celebrity endorsements. Once funds were transferred, victims were unable to recover their money. Investigators said the criminals laundered the…

First Trust Portfolios Fined $10 Million Over Improper Gifts & Misleading Records

Bribery, Prosecutions
First Trust Portfolios has agreed to pay a $10 million fine and accept a censure after the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) found the firm provided lavish gifts and entertainment to broker-dealer representatives in violation of longstanding limits on non-cash compensation tied to investment product sales. The settlement is outlined in a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) that First Trust submitted without admitting or denying the findings. The Illinois-based firm, a wholesale distributor of investment company securities, has been a FINRA member since 1991 and works with hundreds of registered representatives across the country. According to FINRA, from…

France Puts Cement Giant on Trial for Allegedly Financing ISIS

Counter Terrorist Financing, Terrorism
A French court on Tuesday opened the trial of cement giant Lafarge over allegations the company paid millions of euros to jihadist groups in Syria between 2013 and 2014 to keep a local plant running during the country’s civil war. The Paris Criminal Court is hearing the case against the French company and eight other defendants accused of financing armed groups in war-torn Syria, including the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and the al-Nusrah Front (ANF), to keep its local subsidiary operating. The trial is scheduled to run until December 16. Among the accused is former CEO Bruno…

Ukraine Cracks Down on ‘Shadow Managers’ in $100 Million Energy Fraud Case

Fraud
Ukraine’s government has moved to sanction businessman Timur Mindich, a close associate and business partner of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, amid a widening corruption probe that has already ensnared several senior officials. The decision was announced Wednesday, a day after Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) said it had dismantled a high-level criminal organization accused of siphoning large sums from the country’s state-owned nuclear energy operator, Energoatom, through an elaborate kickback and money-laundering scheme. NABU said the 15-month investigation, codenamed Midas, uncovered a group of so-called “shadow managers” who allegedly infiltrated Energoatom to systematically extort kickbacks from contractors and laundered an estimated…

Turkish Prosecutors Seek Over 2,000 Years for Incarcerated Istanbul Mayor

Bribery, Fraud, Money Laundering
Turkish prosecutors accused Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who has been incarcerated since March, of 143 corruption and organized crime offenses, including bribery, money laundering, and fraud against public institutions, according to the state-owned Anadolu Agency. If convicted, he could face 849 to 2,430 years in prison. Istanbul Chief Prosecutor Akin Gurlek told media that the indictment is complete and a lawsuit has been filed with the Istanbul High Criminal Court. The case names 402 suspects, including 105 individuals and İmamoğlu himself, who are already in detention. The indictment described İmamoğlu as heading a crime network likened to “the tentacles of…

‘Simplified’ AML rules will streamline EU data-sharing, ‘Compliance Council’ hears

Regulation
SIMPLIFYING AML rules across the EU will help institutions to share data to combat financial crime, according to a senior European Commission figure. Claude Bocqueraz is Deputy Head of the Financial Crime Unit at the European Commission’s DG-FISMA, said the move will be spearheaded by AMLA, the EU’s new Anti-Money Laundering Authority. “For years, one of the biggest bottlenecks in the AML system has been the difficulty of exchanging data and information,” she said. [The] new EU AML package has taken significant steps to enhance cooperation and information sharing at all levels. [It] introduces a legal basis for public private…

UK Jails Crypto Fraud Masters After Record 60,000-Bitcoin Seizure

Digital Currencies, Fraud, Prosecutions
A Chinese national and her accomplice were sentenced Tuesday in London for laundering funds from a massive investment fraud in China, involving more than 128,000 victims and losses of roughly 600 million pounds ($790.6 million), the Crown Prosecution Service said. Zhimin Qian, also known as Yadi Zhang, 47, was sentenced to 11 years and eight months at Southwark Crown Court after pleading guilty to possession and transfer of criminal property, offenses connected to laundering the proceeds of the fraud. Her accomplice, Malaysian national Seng Hok Ling, 47, received a sentence of four years and 11 months for a money laundering…

SFO announces investigation into $28 million crypto scheme

Digital Currencies, Fraud
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) today issued an appeal for investors to come forward with any information they hold about the collapse of a $28 million cryptocurrency scheme called Basis Markets. The SFO launched an investigation into the suspected fraudulent scheme with two raids in West Yorkshire and London. Investigators, supported by the Metropolitan Police and West Yorkshire Police, searched properties in Herne Hill and near Bradford, arresting two men, one in his thirties and another in his forties, on suspicion of multiple fraud and money laundering offences. Basis Markets raised approximately US$28m via two public fundraisers, one in November…

Albania Suspends Deputy PM Balluku in Major Tender Probe

Corruption
Albania’s Special Court for Organized Crime and Corruption last Friday suspended Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister Belinda Balluku and barred her from leaving the country as she faces charges of abusing major public tenders. In its ruling, the court said Balluku is accused of manipulating procurement procedures for the 190 million euros ($219.2 million) Llogara Tunnel project and for Lot 4 of Tirana’s Outer Ring Road. Judges continued two security measures against her—a ban on leaving the country and suspension from exercising any public duty or service. The court also kept two of her subordinates under house arrest: Albanian…

Peru Jails Ex-President Vizcarra After 14-Years Corruption Sentence

Corruption, Prosecutions
Former Peruvian president Martín Vizcarra was transferred to Lima’s Barbadillo prison on Wednesday evening to begin serving a 14-year sentence, a day after a Peruvian court found him guilty of corruption, state news agency Andina reported Thursday. The court ruled that Vizcarra accepted more than $600,000 in bribes in exchange for granting public works contracts to companies during his tenure as governor of the southern Moquegua region between 2011 and 2014. “It is noted that Martin Vizcarra committed illegal acts by taking advantage of his position as Moquegua region governor, conditioning the bidders to award them the contract in exchange…

South Korea Sanctions Sprawling ‘Prince Group’ Alleged Criminal Empire

Sanctions
In a bid to protect its citizens from human trafficking and cyber scams, South Korea imposed sanctions today on 132 entities and 15 people it said were part of a criminal network based in Cambodia. The government said in a statement that these were its “first-ever autonomous sanctions targeting transnational crime.” The list of sanctioned entities and individuals largely replicated actions by the U.S. and U.K., which together announced a sanctions package last month targeting the “Prince Group Transnational Criminal Organization.” “Among those designated are individuals and entities connected to the Prince Group, which developed and operated massive scam compounds……

EPPO Uncovers €78 Million VAT Fraud in Croatia and Italy

Fraud
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) on Wednesday said it uncovered the first multimillion-euro VAT fraud in Croatia, involving 78 million euros ($90.27 million) in unpaid tax, highlighting cross-border coordination to disrupt large-scale tax evasion in the EU. The investigation targeted a criminal group trading in electronics and hygiene products, resulting in arrests and asset seizures in both Croatia and Italy. In Croatia, six suspects were arrested, with pre-trial detention requested for five, and authorities froze two properties and eight vehicles worth around 650,000 euros ($752,240). In Italy, the Court of Naples froze 33 million euros ($38.19 million) in assets…

Exiled Gabonese First Lady, Son Sentenced in Absentia to 20 Years for Corruption

Corruption, Prosecutions
A Gabonese court on Wednesday sentenced former First Lady Sylvia Bongo and her son Noureddin Bongo Valentin to 20 years in prison for embezzlement, bribery, money laundering, and other corruption-related offenses. Both were tried and sentenced in absentia while living in exile in London. The court also ordered each to pay a fine of 100 million CFA francs (about $177,000). In addition, Noureddin Bongo must pay 1.2 trillion CFA francs (nearly $2.1 billion) in damages, while the two were jointly ordered to pay another 1 trillion CFA francs (more than $1.7 billion) for “moral harm” against the state. The verdict…

Turkey Seizes Control of Crypto Company Suspected of Money Laundering

Digital Currencies, Money Laundering
The Istanbul prosecutors’ office announced on Friday that the COINO Crypto Asset Platform and 15 other companies have been seized on charges of money laundering, and 17 suspects detained. It said the cryptocurrency company was used as intermediary in the laundering of criminal proceeds “belonging to the suspects and their relatives, which were considered to have assets originating from crime [and] were seized by the decision of the Istanbul Criminal Court of Peace.” The prosecutors’ office said that the crypto movements were likely worth nearly 770 million US dollars. “The Prosecutor’s Office stated that 645 of the 802 natural persons…

Roman Abramovich makes claim of ‘conspiracy’ against Jersey government

Corruption, Investigation
The former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is making a claim of “conspiracy” against the government of Jersey after the crown dependency launched a criminal investigation into allegations of corruption and money laundering in connection with the original source of the oligarch’s wealth. The latest move threatens to throw open parts of a secretive legal battle on the Channel island about the tycoon’s rise to become one of the world’s richest people, which emerged in September after a Switzerland federal criminal court ordered the release of a cache of Swiss banking records requested by the Jersey attorney general. The Russian billionaire…

Leaked Russian Records Reveal Obscure Firms Helping Bust Oil Sanctions on North Korea

Sanctions
For the past eight years, Russia and its fellow U.N. Security Council members have maintained economic sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear testing, including severe restrictions on selling crude oil and refined petroleum exports to the isolated dictatorship. The 2017 sanctions limit total exports of oil products to North Korea to 500,000 barrels per country per year. But an investigation last year by the Open Source Center, a U.K.-based research group, estimated that Russia shipped more than double the annual limit to North Korea over just nine months last year. That investigation was based on satellite imagery that, according…

Investigation ‘Fuel family’: Seizures in €260 million VAT fraud in Italy

Sanctions
At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Bologna and Naples (Italy), the Italian Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza) in Naples carried out preventive seizures today, in an investigation into a €260 million VAT fraud scheme involving a criminal network alleged to have imported fuel to the Italian market while systematically evading VAT. The seized assets belong to the company owned by the ringleader of the criminal network, an entrepreneur from Campania, who had been convicted at first instance on 15 October and sentenced to eight years in prison and a fine of €8 600, along with…

Risk assessment processes and controls in firms: our findings

Law, Regulation & Guidance, Regulation
We share findings and highlight good and poor practice to help firms reflect on how they are meeting the existing risk assessment requirements. In 2025, we carried out a multi-firm review focusing on business-wide risk assessment (BWRA) and customer risk assessment (CRA) processes. Our key findings centre around how firms: Identify, understand and assess risk.Appropriately mitigate risk.Effectively manage risk.This review is part of our wider financial crime supervisory work in support of our 2025–30 strategy. Who this applies toFirms.Money Laundering Reporting Officers (MLROs).Senior Managers with oversight.Industry practitioners working in financial crime prevention roles and responsible for assessing risk and setting…

KYB vendor Kyckr sacked senior leaders who identified technical issues causing 72% failure rate

Money Laundering
Kyckr, a British and Australian Know Your Business (KYB) vendor, sacked its chief executive officer and chief technology officer after they identified technical issues with its UBO Verify product that caused a 72% failure rate. These caused inaccurate results that could “give rise to regulatory breach, refund exposure, and reputational risk”, according to an unfair dismissal claim filed with the Fair Work Commission in Australia.Chief executive Kathleen Phelan and chief technology officer Rebecca Glover, who identified and investigated these issues, were dismissed in June. Glover filed the unfair dismissal claim in the Federal Court of Australia on September 22. Kyckr,…

Follow the money: Rethinking geographical risk assessment in money laundering

Money Laundering
The new EU Money Laundering Regulation (EU 2024/1624) explicitly defines financial secrecy as a geographical risk factor that obliged entities must take into account when applying their customer due diligence obligations to customers from third countries in the future. According to the regulation, financial secrecy arises, for example, when countries hinder the exchange of information, do not maintain registers of beneficial owners or have strict banking secrecy. These factors overlap with the indicators of the Financial Secrecy Index, thus opening up the possibility of assessing geographical risks in money laundering prevention in a more evidence-based and less politically biased manner.…

Financial crime oversight in corporate finance firms shows gaps, says FCA

Regulation
Corporate finance firms help businesses raise money by connecting them with investors or lenders and are vital to the growth and success of the UK economy – making effective financial crime controls essential. 11% of responding firms reported having no documented business-wide risk assessment, which is a requirement under the Money Laundering Regulations. Without a business-wide risk assessment, firms are leaving themselves and the wider market vulnerable to money laundering, fraud and other forms of financial crime. Other findings from the survey that highlighted areas for improvement included: 10% of firms stated they did not retain documented evidence of customer…

Six organised criminal gangsters convicted for large scale money laundering inside DVD cases

Money Laundering, Prosecutions
Six members of an organised criminal gang (OCG) have been convicted for playing key roles in smuggling as much as £430, 925 in cash hidden inside DVDs cases on their way to Dubai.Atif Hussain, 33, Usman Mahmood, 38, and Shafiq Zahid, 47, were convicted today of being part of the money laundering arrangement.On a previous occasion, Asad Saddique, 34, Haroon Iqbal, 38, and Tallat Hussain, 34, pleaded guilty to the same offence.This criminal activity was investigated by the National Crime Agency. The Crown Prosecution Service made the decision to prosecute.The cash was exported to Dubai in airfreight consignments through Birmingham,…

Crypto donations: how to tackle the new dark money threat

Digital Currencies
The first-ever crypto donation to a UK political party has now been made, according to recent media reports. We don’t yet know the source or value of the donation. But it seems probable that Reform UK is the beneficiary as it is one of only two UK political parties, alongside the largely unheard of ‘The Other Party’ to have opened a crypto wallet. Speaking to The Observer this weekend, our executive director, Dr Susan Hawley, called this “a watershed moment in political financing” as MPs and policymakers now decide what should be done to mitigate the unique risks that crypto…

OFSI Annual Review 2024 to 2025: Effective Sanctions

Sanctions
FSI Annual Review 2024 to 2025: Effective Sanctions The review includes information on: ComplianceCapabilityEnforcementAnnual Frozen Asset Review 2024Frozen Asset In-Year Reporting, February 2022 to August 2025 Article Credit: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ofsi-annual-review-2024-25-effective-sanctions

Emerging money laundering and terrorist financing risks from October 2025

Money Laundering
Licence Condition 12.1.1(3) of the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP), requires operators to keep up-to-date with emerging risks information published by the Gambling Commission. This emerging risks publication is a trigger for operators to review their money laundering and terrorist financing risk assessments and related policies, procedures and controls to ensure that they remain appropriate and effective. Pre-paid payment methods Risk information The emerging risks bulletins published in April 2020 and February 2022, highlighted the money laundering and terrorist financing (MLTF) risks associated with pre-paid cards. The Commission’s 2023 MLTF risk assessment also classified pre-paid cards as high-risk…

Jail for man who laundered over £5million in cash

Money Laundering
A man has been put behind bars after being involved in laundering over £5.3million in cash.Gurmeet Handa, from Little Aston, has been jailed after a complex joint investigation led officers to uncovering a sophisticated international money laundering operation orchestrated by Handa.Gurmeet Singh Handa.jpgGurmeet HandaThe investigation began in 2016 following the seizure of £30,000 in cash in Alum Rock, Birmingham, which kickstarted an incredibly detailed money laundering investigation.As a result, officers from the Regional Economic Crime Unit alongside teams from West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit and HMRC all joined forces and uncovered over £5.3million had been laundered in cash between…

Government’s decision on reforming anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing supervision

FCA, Money Laundering, Regulation
Responding to the Government’s decisionLink is external on reforming anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing supervision, Steve Smart, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: ‘We recognise the benefits of an improved regime for anti-money laundering supervision. These changes will simplify the supervision of professional services, ensure more consistent oversight and help us identify and disrupt crime. ‘The FCA will work closely with the Government, the Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision (OPBAS), Professional Body Supervisors, HMRC, the firms we will be supervising and others, as we work together to equip the UK to better…

Six people sentenced for part in a £20 million fraud against the taxpayer

Fraud, Prosecutions
Six people have been sentenced for playing a role in a complex £20 million fraud against UK taxpayers.Kashaf Bashier, 43, William Lindfield, 63, Vishal Chudsama, 42, Adeel Karamat Malik, 45, Beverley Thompson, 60, and Sarah Jane Peploe, 54, have been sentenced to 23 months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months; seven years and six months imprisonment; three years and six months imprisonment; 23 months imprisonment suspended for 18 months, 15 days Rehabilitation, 150 hours unpaid work; wo years imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, 10 days Rehabilitation, 100 hours unpaid work; and 21 months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, 12 days Rehabilitation,…

ESMA’s Sanctions Snapshot Shows Stable Enforcement but Rising Fines Across Europe

Sanctions
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has released its second consolidated report on sanctions and measures imposed across the EU’s financial markets in 2024, and while the pace of enforcement held steady, the price of wrongdoing climbed steeply. Across 29 European Economic Area (EEA) countries, regulators issued 975 administrative sanctions and measures, almost identical to 2023’s 976. But the value of those fines jumped from €71 million to more than €100 million, suggesting national authorities are turning to larger penalties to drive compliance rather than expanding enforcement volume. Once again, the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) and the Markets in…

Algeria Jails Ex-Minister for $45M Social Security Fund Theft

Financial Crime
An Algerian court sentenced former Labor Minister Tijani Hassan Haddam to seven years in prison for embezzling roughly $45 million during his time as director of the National Social Security Fund from 2015 to 2019, local media reported. Haddam was also fined 1 million dinars ($7,719) and ordered to pay 2 million dinars ($15,433) in compensation to the public treasury, while he and other defendants must jointly repay the fund 100 million dinars ($771,687) in damages. The case centers on a controversial property purchase in Algiers, which Haddam claimed was for the social security fund. The real estate developer involved…

Canada’s Financial Watchdog Fines Crypto Firm Cryptomus $127 Million for AML Failures

Digital Currencies, Money Laundering, Prosecutions
Canada’s financial intelligence watchdog has handed down its largest-ever penalty, fining Xeltox Enterprises, the company behind the crypto platform Cryptomus, $127 million (C$176,960,190) for repeated violations of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing laws. The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) said the British Columbia–based firm was fined following a compliance examination that uncovered widespread failures to comply with the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and its associated regulations. Between July 1 and July 31, 2024, FINTRAC found that Cryptomus failed to submit 1,068 suspicious transaction reports despite having reasonable grounds to suspect links…

Ukraine Sends $7M Customs Fraud Case to Court

Fraud
Ukrainian anti-corruption prosecutors have sent to court a large-scale criminal case against officials of the Chernivtsi Customs Office accused of running a “grey import” scheme that cost the state nearly 290 million hryvnias (about $7 million). The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) said they completed the investigation into what they described as a criminal organization embedded in the customs authority. Investigators allege the group manipulated import duties through fraudulent declarations, allowing high-value goods to enter Ukraine at artificially low rates. The organization allegedly included both current and former customs officers, among them…

EBA Finds Significant Progress in EU Banks’ Anti-Money Laundering & Counter-Terrorism Financing Supervision

Financial Crime
The European Banking Authority (EBA) has reported substantial improvements in how EU and EEA Member States supervise banks for money laundering and terrorist financing risks, marking the conclusion of a six-year review project. In a report published on 8 October 2025, the EBA said that competent authorities have made “significant progress” in adopting risk-based approaches to anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) supervision, even as many grappled with resource constraints and reform challenges. Between 2018 and 2024, the EBA carried out in-depth reviews of 40 national competent authorities (NCAs), examining their strategies, supervisory practices, and use of…

China Urges UK to Immediately Remove Chinese Companies from Sanctions List

Sanctions
China has called on the United Kingdom to immediately drop the newly imposed sanctions against 11 Chinese entities accused of supporting Russia’s energy sector, state news agency CGTN reported Thursday. Beijing protested the designations, stating that the unilateral sanctions “have no basis in international law [and] undermine the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises,” a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in the U.K. said. The appeal comes after London announced on Wednesday what it described as its “strongest” sanctions package to date against Russia, directly targeting oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil. The package also targets individuals and entities allegedly…

Spanish court orders ex-UN official extradited to US in bribery case

Bribery, Prosecutions
MADRID (Reuters) -Spain’s High Court has ordered that former senior U.N. official Vitaly Vanshelboim be extradited to the United States where he is accused of taking bribes and money laundering, according to a court document seen by Reuters on Tuesday. Vanshelboim, a Ukrainian national, served in high-ranking roles within the U.N. Office for Project Services (UNOPS) until he was placed on administrative leave in 2021 and subsequently dismissed in 2023. He was arrested in Spain in March on an international warrant issued by the Southern District Court of New York. Vanshelboim is accused of accepting at least $2 million in…

Azerbaijan’s Former Presidential Chief of Staff Placed Under House Arrest

Bribery, Corruption
A former chief of staff to the Azerbaijani president has been placed under house arrest on charges of treason, attempting to overthrow the state by force, and money laundering, according to reports circulating in pro-government media outlets. On Tuesday, a Baku court ordered four months of home detention for Ramiz Mehdiyev, 87, citing his advanced age, Qafqazinfo reported. The charges carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment under Azerbaijan’s criminal code. In a brief phone interview published by Qafqazinfo, Mehdiyev ended the call when asked about the charges. Often dubbed the “grey cardinal” by local media, Mehdiyev wielded considerable influence…

Peru’s Ex-President Sentenced Amid Sweeping Odebrecht Scandal

Money Laundering, Prosecutions
A Peruvian court on Wednesday handed former President Alejandro Toledo a second prison sentence for money laundering and corruption in a case tied to bribes he received from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht. Toledo, who led Peru from 2001 to 2006, was sentenced to 13 years and four months for money laundering, the judiciary said on X. It was his second conviction in connection with the sprawling scandal. His latest sentence will not be added to his existing 20-year prison term but will run concurrently at Lima’s Barbadillo Prison, where three other ex-presidents are also jailed. The court found the 79-year-old…

Bolivia: Ex-Interior Minister Arrested Following U.S. Extradition

Money Laundering, Prosecutions
Bolivian authorities arrested former Interior Minister Arturo Murillo on Thursday after his extradition from the United States, where he had been serving a prison sentence for money laundering, the Interior Ministry said. The 61-year-old was taken into custody upon arrival in Santa Cruz. Murillo faces multiple charges in Bolivia, including an eight-year sentence in a 2019 case over the irregular purchase of tear gas from Ecuador, which allegedly cost the state more than $2.3 million. He was first detained in the U.S. in 2021 on accusations of taking bribes from a Florida-based company and was sentenced there to six years in prison in 2023. Article…