Month: May 2025

US Sanctions Myanmar Militia Tied to Cyber-Scams, Human Trafficking

Human Trafficking, Sanctions
The U.S. has slapped sanctions on a militia aligned with Myanmar’s ruling military junta, accusing the group of facilitating cyber-scam operations that have bilked billions from American victims over the past three years. The U.S. Treasury Department designated the Karen National Army (KNA) as a “transnational criminal organization” on Monday, and also sanctioned three of its leaders: Saw Chit Thu, and his two sons, Saw Htoo Eh Moo and Saw Chit Chit. The KNA runs a large territory on the frontier with Thailand that “is home to multiple cyber scam syndicates,” Treasury said in its announcement. The syndicates rely largely…

Julius Baer’s Fine in Money Laundering Case Compounds Legal Woes

Money Laundering
(Bloomberg) — Julius Baer Group Ltd. has been ordered to hand over 4.4 million Swiss francs ($5.2 million) including confiscated profits linked to alleged failures in money laundering controls, in a fresh setback for the bank’s newly installed management team.The Zurich-based bank had been under investigation over transactions that had occurred between 2009 and 2019 and linked to operations in Monaco and Singapore, according to a person familiar with the matter.The previously undisclosed “enforcement proceeding” is separate to an existing Finma probe into losses linked to the Signa real estate empire, in which Baer was forced to write off $700…

US Lawmakers Pass Megobari Act Targeting Threats to Georgia’s Democracy

Sanctions
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill authorizing sanctions against members of the Georgian government who pose a threat to the country’s stability, security, and democratic development. After Congress approved it on Monday, the bill — called the Megobari Act which means “friend” in Georgian — will now move to the Senate for debate and a vote. If approved in the Senate, it will be sent to U.S. President Donald Trump for final approval and signature into law. “The passage of the MEGOBARI Act sends a strong message to the Georgian people that the U.S. supports them as…

Man Sentenced to Over 30 Years in Prison for Crypto-Terror Financing Scheme

Counter Terrorist Financing
Defendant Collected and Sent More Than $185,000 to ISIS A Springfield, Virginia, man was sentenced yesterday to 364 months in prison for his efforts to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. According to court records and evidence presented at trial, from at least October 2019 through October 2022, Mohammed Azharuddin Chhipa, 35, collected and sent money to female ISIS members in Syria to benefit ISIS in various ways, including by financing the escape of female ISIS members from prison camps and supporting ISIS fighters. Chhipa would raise funds online…

EU Fraud Probe Nets 12 Arrests, €9.6M in Assets Seized

Fraud
talian authorities arrested 12 people and seized more than 9.6 million euros ($10.9 million) in assets as part of a sweeping investigation into an alleged fraud scheme targeting European Union agricultural subsidies, officials said Wednesday. At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Naples, the Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza) in Caserta carried out the arrests under an order from a judge at the Court of Salerno. The case centers on a suspected criminal network that allegedly defrauded the EU of more than 12.5 million euros ($14.2 million) in agricultural funds between 2018 and 2022. Prosecutors say…

FCA confiscates over £300,000 from convicted fraudsters

Fraud
The FCA has secured confiscation orders of £305,284 against Raheel Mirza, Cameron Vickers and Opeyemi Solaja for their roles in an investment fraud. This amounts to all their remaining assets. The confiscation proceedings for Reuben Akpojaro have been adjourned to a later date. The money will be returned to investors at the earliest opportunity. Failure to pay can lead to imprisonment. Between June 2016 and January 2020, the defendants cold called people to convince them to invest in a shell company. They then claimed to trade their client’s money in binary options (a type of fixed odds financial betting) when…

Credit Suisse Fined $511M in US Tax Evasion Case

Tax Evasion
Credit Suisse Services AG has agreed to pay nearly $511 million in penalties to settle a U.S. criminal case accusing the Swiss bank of helping wealthy American clients evade taxes by hiding more than $4 billion in offshore accounts for over a decade. The bank pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by concealing assets in at least 475 accounts from 2010 to 2021, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday. The investigation, launched in 2023, found that Credit Suisse facilitated efforts by U.S. clients to hide their ownership and…

UK Cuts At High Street Money Laundering and Organised Crime

Money Laundering
The UK high street has caught the attention of organised criminals seeking avenues for money laundering, leading to recent and high-profile action from British police forces. Last month, 19 police forces across England and Wales engaged in ‘Operation Machinize’ – a nationwide crackdown on High Street businesses suspected of laundering the proceeds of serious and organised crime (SOC). Over the course of the headline-grabbing operation, law enforcement agencies visited 265 premises, froze over £1 million in bank accounts, seized £40,000 in cash, made 35 arrests, shut down two cannabis farms and forcibly closed ten shops. Although widely welcomed, this action…

Indonesia Targets Gambling Ring Using Crypto, QR Codes

Digital Currencies, Money Laundering
ndonesian authorities have arrested two individuals suspected of running an online money laundering operation linked to gambling proceeds. The National Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) said the suspects, identified as OHW and H, were involved in a scheme to launder gambling money through Indonesia’s QR code payment system—QRIS—and cryptocurrency. Criminal Investigation Unit Chief Commissioner General Wahyu Widada said the suspects established and controlled companies to place, receive and move funds from illegal online gambling operations. All forms of gambling are illegal in Indonesia. The money was later funneled through “thousands of accounts” as part of the laundering process. Police said…

International Coalition Uncovers €3m Online Investment Fraud

Fraud
An organised criminal group (OCG) operating globally has defrauded more than 100 victims of over EUR 3 million through a fake online investment platform. Cooperation between German, Cypriot, Albanian, British and Israeli investigators, supported by Eurojust and Europol, led to the dismantling of the criminal group and the arrest of a suspect in Cyprus.Using the method of cyber trading, the group was able to make considerable profits and defraud victims of their substantial savings. The criminals created a fake online trading platform that promised large profits in a short period of time. After initially transferring modest sums of money to…

EU Expands Sanctions, Targets Russia’s Shadow Fleet

Sanctions
Two months after adopting its 16th sanctions package against Russia, the European Union has backed a 17th round on Wednesday, targeting Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet”—a network of vessels used to evade sanctions and export oil to foreign markets. The new sanctions target 194 ships associated with the shadow fleet, 31 arms supply companies involved in circumventing sanctions, and several banks, according to France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot. Media reports say the package will also include “dozens” of additional individuals linked to Russia’s military and security apparatus. They will be added to the nearly 2,400 people and entities already subject to…

“Unsubstantiated” suspicious transaction reports

Regulation
While financial institutions, on the one hand, are in the process of implementing and preparing to apply the fundamental amendments and changes that will take place in upcoming years by the EU AML Package—entering into force mainly in mid-2027—there are, on the other hand, signs of a relaxation of AML compliance requirements in the US. Meanwhile, the Federal Financial Services Authority (“BaFin”) published a remarkable sanctions decision in a case where a payment institution was penalized for failing to establish and maintain a proper business organization in the area of detection of suspicious transactions. BaFin, the German regulator, argued that…

Cypriot Auditor Scrutinizes Political Donations From ‘Golden Passport’ Program

Bribery
Cypriot political parties received more than 1 million euros in donations connected to the country’s controversial “golden passport” program, according to the country’s Auditor General. Before the Cyprus Investment Program was shut down amid allegations of corruption, foreigners could obtain citizenship by purchasing real estate worth at least 2 million euros. The scheme reportedly brought an estimated 9 billion euros into the country over the course of 13 years. The Auditor General published its series of reports on Tuesday — one overview and eight more scrutinizing donations to specific political parties. The reports analyzed a total of 1.12 million euros…

Former German MP Affirms Indictment Accusing Him of Taking Bribes from Azerbaijan

Bribery
Former conservative parliamentarian Eduard Lintner has affirmed that the indictment against him in the Azerbaijani Laundromat trial is correct — even though it includes accusations that he accepted bribes. While Lintner said in a Munich court on May 15 that he agreed with the indictment, he later told DPA he was innocent, because he did not consider the payments he received from the Azerbaijan government as bribes. The case centers on Azerbaijan’s covert strategy to buy political influence in Europe, particularly within the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, a body tasked with safeguarding human rights. The Azerbaijani Laundromat…

How Criminal Groups Have Adapted to the Digital Age

Cyber Crime
The cyber world is constantly evolving, and criminal groups in Latin America are adapting their modus operandi to make the most of it. Technological innovations brought about by the Internet era have influenced various criminal economies, from drug trafficking to money laundering. In Mexico, producers of synthetic drugs, such as fentanyl and methamphetamine, use the open and dark web to acquire precursors and highly regulated chemicals through sellers who can ensure successful shipments to almost anywhere. Latin American criminal groups, such as the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco Cartel New Generation (Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación – CJNG), frequently use…

Fraud costing U.S. government hundreds of billions a year as crime rings use stolen identities

Fraud
Fraud costing U.S. government hundreds of billions a year as crime rings use stolen identities It’s the most popular f-word in Washington: fraud. And DOGE — the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency — has been tearing through federal agencies on the hunt for it. But is DOGE looking in the right places? The fraud we’ll tell you about tonight is complex, pervasive and being carried out by transnational criminal organizations often using stolen identities to target U.S. taxpayers – costing the government hundreds of billions of dollars a year. Linda Miller: To be honest, Elon Musk coming out and…

The story so far: A snapshot of what we’ve seen since our APP scams reimbursement requirement went live

Fraud
Managing Director David Geale reflects on what we have seen since implementation of the world leading reimbursement requirements to protect users. Our new authorised push payment (APP) scams reimbursement requirement went live on 7 October 2024. It gave stronger protections to victims of APP scams in a way no other country had done before. We’re now just over seven months in and we’re looking back at how payment service providers (PSPs) implemented the policy, and the impact it’s had on people so far. As with any new policy, implementation can be challenging as firms train staff and roll out the…

EXCLUSIVE: UK Sanctions Azerbaijan State-Owned Tanker for Shipping Russian Oil

Sanctions
A tanker sanctioned by the U.K. for shipping oil on behalf of Russia is owned by the government of Azerbaijan, corporate documents show. Targeting a state-owned tanker was a warning to Azerbaijan at a time when the oil-rich country has been striking energy deals with the European Union, according to Maximilan Hess, an analyst with the Foreign Policy Research Institute, a U.S. think tank. “It is a clear warning shot across the bow that further Azerbaijani-sponsored efforts to support Russian sanctions evasion carries major risks to Azerbaijan’s diplomatic position and potentially wider economy,” Hess told OCCRP. The sweeping sanctions package…

Three charged in NCA investigation into £3m cash seizures

Money Laundering
Three men have been charged as part of a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation into attempts to smuggle millions of pounds out of the UK in lorries. Uzbekistan nationals Azizillo Ugli Azamov, 20, Khalilullokh Omonillaev, 22, and Mukhammadamin Abdurakhmonov, 20, all from London, appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on 8 May charged with money laundering. An NCA investigation was launched on 21 June 2024 after Border Force seized £950,000 from a vehicle at the Eurotunnel terminal in Folkestone. The cash was hidden inside 13 boxes of washing powder. A second vehicle was stopped at Harwich Port two weeks later, on…

Bargain Hunt expert admits failing to report sales to suspected Hezbollah funder

Counter Terrorist Financing
An art dealer who has appeared as an expert on the BBC programme Bargain Hunt has admitted failing to report his dealings with a suspected Hezbollah financier. The court heard that Oghenochuko Ojiri sold artwork to Nazem Ahmad but did not tell the authorities despite knowing Ahmad had been under US sanctions over links to the proscribed organisation. On Thursday, Ojiri became the first person to be charged with such an offence. He pleaded guilty to eight counts relating to a period between October 2020 and December 2021 at Westminster magistrates court on Friday. The prosecutor, Lyndon Harris, told the…

Wine Fraud Rocks Switzerland

Fraud
Wine fraudster Cédric Flaction once drove showy cars including two Aston Martins, two Ferraris, two Porsches, an Audi and a BMW. The Swiss winemaker, however, has become better known for being the first vigneron in the Valais, Switzerland’s biggest wine region, to be convicted of wine fraud and forgery. On September 2, 2024, a court in Sion sentenced Flaction to three-and-a-half years’ imprisonment, and ordered him to pay 1.94 million Swiss francs ($2.34 million) in compensation costs. Flaction is alleged to have bought 750,000 liters of Spanish bulk wine and 105,000 liters of Pinot Noir from Schaffhausen – a less-prestigious…

India’s Former UCO Bank Chief Arrested in Major Fraud Case

Fraud
Indian authorities have arrested Subodh Kumar Goel, the former Chairman and Managing Director of UCO Bank, in connection with major money laundering and bank fraud worth some $726 million. The case concerns loans he allegedly approved to Concast Steel & Power Ltd. (CSPL) during his tenure. Investigators say the funds were diverted through shell companies and front entities by the borrowers and in exchange, Goel allegedly received large illegal payments. According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Goel was paid in cash, real estate, luxury items, and hotel stays. These benefits were routed through family members and dummy companies to hide…

UK offshore havens miss deadline for transparency plans

Money Laundering
British Virgin Islands criticised for launching financial crime-fighting cartoon mascot before new legislation UK offshore havens have missed a deadline to publish their plans to improve corporate transparency, as MPs criticised the British Virgin Islands (BVI) in particular for launching a financial crime-fighting cartoon mascot before new legislation. Jurisdictions including the BVI and Bermuda pledged last year to approve laws allowing access to company ownership data to those with a “legitimate interest” by April 2025, with implementation to follow in June. But four British overseas territories – the BVI, Bermuda, Anguilla and Turks & Caicos – have failed to meet…