Year: 2025

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…

Disgraced former Sen. Bob Menendez’s wife gets 4½ years in prison for her role in a bribery scheme

Bribery, Prosecutions
Former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez’s wife told a judge that her husband was “not the man I thought he was” before she was sentenced Thursday to 4½ years in prison for selling the powerful New Jersey politician’s influence in exchange for bribes of cash, gold bars and a luxury car. U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein sentenced Nadine Menendez, 58, after she was convicted in April of colluding from 2018 to 2023 with her husband, the former Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in a variety of corrupt schemes, some involving assisting the Egyptian government. Sobbing as she…

China Launches Corruption Probe Into Former Securities Regulator

Corruption
China’s top anti-corruption watchdog has launched an investigation into Yi Huiman, the former head of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) and a veteran of the country’s banking sector. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Commission of Supervision claimed that Yi, 61, is suspected of “serious violations of discipline and law” and is under disciplinary and supervisory review. Yi is one of the most prominent financial officials to face scrutiny in recent years. He spent decades in China’s state-owned banking system, rising to chairman of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world’s largest lender…

Eurojust coordinates action to halt cryptocurrency fraud of over 100 million euros across Europe

Fraud
At the request of the Spanish and Portuguese authorities, Eurojust has coordinated a major operation across Europe to halt an elaborate investment fraud with cryptocurrencies. During an action day, five suspects were arrested, including the alleged main perpetrator behind the scam. Via an online investment platform, he defrauded over a hundred victims in Germany, France, Italy and Spain, among others, of at least EUR 100 million. During the joint action day, five places were searched in both Spain and Portugal, as well as in Italy, Romania and Bulgaria, where bank accounts and other financial assets were also frozen. The alleged…

Azerbaijan Jails Ex-Oil Executive for $32M Embezzlement

Fraud, Money Laundering, Prosecutions
An Azerbaijani court has sentenced a former state oil firm executive to 14 years in jail for embezzling 54 million manats ($31.76 million). The Baku Court of Grave Crimes on Monday jailed Ramin Isayev—who served from 2008 to 2020 as the general director of SOCAR AQS, a joint venture of the state oil firm that operates drilling rigs in the Caspian Sea—after finding him guilty of embezzlement, money laundering, abuse of office, and fraud. The court also ordered the confiscation of real estate and large sums of cash belonging to him and his family, according to RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani service. The…

Swiss seek ways to bolster financial crime office

Financial Crime
The Swiss government has tasked the Federal Department of Justice and Police with presenting concrete options by the end of 2026. Under constant pressure, MROS (the Money Laundering Reporting Office) is in a critical situation, the Federal Council explained on Friday. This assessment was echoed by the Swiss Federal Audit Office in a report published this week. It warned that insufficient resources were preventing MROS from fully fulfilling its legal mandate. Overwhelmed with informationThis office receives reports of suspected money laundering and terrorist financing. These reports are sent to it by financial intermediaries, such as banks. However, MROS is overwhelmed…

Varengold Bank AG: BaFin orders comprehensive remediation of shortcomings and imposes administrative fine

Regulation
The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) has identified serious shortcomings at Varengold Bank AG in the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing. BaFin has therefore ordered the institution to take appropriate and suitable measures to remedy these shortcomings. In addition, BaFin has imposed on Varengold Bank AG an administrative fine of EUR 3.3 million and a coercive fine of EUR 500,000. In the special inspection conducted in 2022 and in the annual audits for 2022 and 2023, Varengold Bank AG was found to have serious shortcomings in the prevention of money laundering, in particular in the execution of transactions…

Fugitive Moldovan tycoon recruits top Russian bankers to run sanctions-busting crypto firm: leak

Sanctions
CITY OF LONDON–Senior executives from Russia’s mainstream banking sector have joined an avowedly sanctions-proof crypto and payments firm at the heart of the Kremlin’s strategy to disrupt the West, leaked documents show. The documents reveal, in granular detail, the emerging sanctions evasion tactics and election interference campaigns run by fugitive Moldovan businessman Ilan Shor, who is backed by the Kremlin – as well as the significant amount of financial and human resources the 38-year-old tycoon appears to have at his command. Those resources include ex-department chiefs from large banking institutions such as Russia’s Sberbank, state development bank Vnesheconombank (VEB) and…

Romanian Authorities Investigate HS Timber Employees in Alleged Tax Scheme

Tax Evasion
Romanian authorities are investigating employees of the local subsidiary of Austria’s HS Timber Group for allegedly failing to pay $8 million in taxes on sales of undeclared lumber, according to a prosecution document provided to OCCRP’s member center, Rise. HS Timber Production Romania said it was cooperating with the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT). “The company has always been fully cooperating with the authorities to ensure comprehensive and transparent fact finding processes,” HS Timber Production Romania said in an emailed response to questions. The company added that it “has always operated in compliance with all applicable national…

Money Laundering and Sanctions Evasion: Select Committee on China Holds Roundtable Examining Hong Kong’s Role

Money Laundering, Sanctions
Today, House Select Committee on China held a roundtable discussion examining Hong Kong’s Role as a Safe Haven for PRC Money Laundering and Sanctions Evasion.“Hong Kong’s opaque financial system, coupled with the sheer volume of cross-border financial flows from the mainland, has made it a magnet for criminal activity. Reports have shown the city’s role in trade-based money laundering, shell companies, and fraudulent networks designed to move and obscure dirty money. Even more concerning, Hong Kong has become a staging ground for transactions that help sanctioned regimes—including North Korea, Russia, and Iran—gain access to the global financial system. This empowers…

Georgia Detains Exchange Owner in $660M Laundering Probe

Money Laundering
The Georgian Prosecutor’s Office  on Tuesday announced the arrest of a local currency exchange owner accused of laundering more than $660 million, calling it the country’s largest money-laundering scheme to date. A court ordered Kakha Kotorashvili, 49, head of the currency firm Fin, held in pre-trial detention on money-laundering charges. If convicted, he faces up to 12 years in prison. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the investigation—conducted together with the State Security Service—found that between 2022 and 2024, Kotorashvili organized an “illegal network for collecting money of unsubstantiated origin, disguising its source through conversion, and placing it into legal circulation.” While the Prosecutor’s Office did not…

The Global Anti-Financial Crime System is Broken

Financial Crime, Financial Crime Controls
For over 35 years, global standards have required countries around the world to put in place laws, regulations and structures to prevent and detect money laundering (and, more recently, terrorist financing and proliferation financing). The internationals standard-setter, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) provides a framework of measures for countries to implement; every ten years or so, countries are reviewed for both their technical compliance with the recommendations and the effectiveness of the measures that they have put in place. Since the establishment of the FATF in 1989, the global financial system has become infinitely more complex and fragmented; and…

Police Arrest 5 in €100M Cross-Border Cryptocurrency Fraud Case

Fraud, Prosecutions
Police across Europe have arrested five suspects in a cross-border operation coordinated by Eurojust that targeted an online cryptocurrency investment scam that defrauded victims of at least €100 million. The arrests, which included the alleged main organizer, took place during a joint action day that also saw searches carried out and bank accounts and other assets frozen in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Romania and Bulgaria, Eurojust said Wednesday. The suspected organizer is under investigation for large-scale fraud and money laundering. Authorities said the scheme lured investors onto professionally designed platforms that promised high returns from cryptocurrencies. Instead, much of the money…

Criminals stripped of money in record year for compensation

Proceeds of Crime, Prosecutions
Victims of crime have received record compensation from criminal funds as new figures show results of a yearlong crackdown on dirty money.   Asset recovery gives law enforcement the tools to track down and take back assets gained through criminal activity, ensuring offenders cannot benefit from the proceeds of their crimes.  New figures released today (Thursday 11 September) show that almost £50 million taken from criminals was returned to victims, an 165% increase on the previous year and the highest amount in over half a decade.   This comes as law enforcement recovered almost £300 million in criminal assets. It highlights…

Showing financial crime the red card

Regulation
Speech by Steve Smart, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight, at the 1LoD Financial Crime Summit. It’s great to be here to help kick off this year’s Financial Crime Summit. This is actually my second ‘kick off’ of the week – I was lucky enough to be at the Serbia-England game on Tuesday. On the terraces rather than on the pitch – I’m still waiting patiently for my call-up to the squad – but in the meantime, I take every chance I get to catch a match. There’s nothing like being in the stands – the high stakes,…

High Court: Solicitor “turned blind eye” to money laundering concerns

Money Laundering
A partner at a London law firm “dishonestly assisted” in misappropriating a company’s funds by turning a blind eye to money laundering issues raised by three property transactions, the High Court has ruled. Deputy High Court Judge Saira Salimi ruled that Daniel Broughton “repeatedly failed to obtain documentary evidence of funds and their source, and to follow up on inquiries he had made”. As a result, £2.4m of funds misappropriated from the claimant, Grosvenor Property Developers Ltd, passed through Portner & Co’s client account. She continued: “The repeated explanation for these lapses is an acknowledgement that he was ‘sloppy’ or…

Luhansk Ex-Governor Detained in Ukrainian Graft Probe

Corruption, Prosecutions
A Ukrainian anti-corruption court has ordered former Luhansk governor Serhiy Haidai into pre-trial detention over a suspected corruption scheme in military procurement. He may be released on bail of 10 million UAH (about $250,000). The case centers on alleged kickbacks and inflated contracts for drones and electronic warfare systems purchased in 2024 and 2025. Investigators say Haidai conspired with political and business allies to rig the tender process and manipulate forensic reports. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) are leading the investigation. Prosecutors may appeal the court’s ruling. Article Credit: https://www.occrp.org/en/news/luhansk-ex-governor-detained-in-ukrainian-graft-probe

Singapore Tycoon Pleads Guilty in Graft Probe

Corruption, Prosecutions
Singaporean billionaire Ong Beng Seng pleaded guilty Monday to abetting obstruction of justice in a corruption case involving former Transport Minister S. Iswaran. Prosecutors said Ong instructed the Singapore Grand Prix director in May 2023 to retroactively bill Iswaran for a business-class flight from Doha amid an investigation into illicit gifts. The charge is part of a broader probe into Ong’s alleged offer of private jet travel and luxury accommodation to the minister during his time in office. Ong, 79, founder of Hotel Properties Ltd. and a key figure behind Singapore’s Formula 1 night race, was also charged with offering…

U.S. Sanctions Chinese Oil Terminal Operator Tied to Iranian Sanctions Evasion Scheme

Sanctions
The U.S. has sanctioned a Chinese oil terminal operator that played a central role in an Iranian sanctions evasion network first exposed by investigative journalists in 2020. The sanctions, announced by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), targeted multiple individuals and entities accused of helping Iran’s oil and energy sector finance alleged terrorist activities. Among the most prominent is Zhoushan Jinrun Petroleum Transfer Co., Ltd., a private terminal operator based in eastern China’s Zhejiang province. The company is controlled by Herun Group, a conglomerate led by Yu Songbo, once ranked among China’s wealthiest businessmen. The State Department…

Bangladesh Opens Corruption Trial for Sheikh Hasina

Corruption, Prosecutions
Testimony began Monday in three separate corruption trials against Bangladesh’s ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, and daughter Saima Wazed Putul, proceedings that prosecutors say could permanently bar the once-dominant political family from public office. The cases, heard at Dhaka’s Special Judge’s Court-5 under Judge Mohammad Abdullah Al Mamun, accuse the defendants of unlawfully allocating government land and other abuses of power. Bangladesh’s state news agency, BSS, reported that the trials are proceeding in absentia, with all 48 defendants—including Hasina and her children—considered fugitives after failing to appear in court. The Anti-Corruption Commission alleges Hasina illegally…

Former CEO of Dutch ‘Jumbo’ Supermarkets Requests Appeal for Bribery Conviction

Bribery, Prosecutions
Frits van Eerd, former CEO of the Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo, has filed an appeal against his two-year prison sentence on charges including money laundering and accepting bribes, according to his lawyer. The Northern Netherlands District Court in the city of Groningen sentenced van Eerd on August 7, noting that authorities had found 427,607 euros ($498,004) of “criminal money” in his home. Van Eerd also took bribes from a co-defendant in the case, the court ruled. “Look, he has always said, ‘I didn’t do this, I wasn’t bribed.’ And, by the way, the co-defendant says he didn’t bribe anyone. So…

Global Bank Fraud Risks Set to Escalate

Fraud
Fraud losses in the global banking sector are expected to soar to $58.3 billion by 2030, according to a new report by U.K.-based consultancy Juniper Research. The study, Fraud Detection & Prevention in Banking Market 2025–2030, projects a 153 percent jump from an estimated $23 billion in 2025, underscoring the growing risks financial institutions face from evolving fraud schemes. One of the biggest threats identified is synthetic identity fraud—when criminals create fake personas by blending stolen, real and fabricated details. These identities can pass standard checks because they include partial authentic data, making them difficult to detect. The report said…

Ex-Directors of Abramovich-Linked Firm Indicted in €25M Cyprus Tax Evasion Case

Prosecutions, Tax Evasion
Former directors of a company linked to Roman Abramovich’s superyachts will end up in Cyprus court for criminal offenses related to VAT, officials say. Congo’s Ex-Justice Minister Convicted of Diverting War Victim FundsFormer Justice Minister Constant Mutamba has been convicted of diverting $19 million meant to compensate war crime victims in Kisangani. Druze Families Blame Syrian Forces for Suwayda ExecutionsAmnesty International urges accountability after Druze civilians were executed “in cold blood” in Suwayda, accusing Syrian forces of sectarian crimes that reflect the deadly cost of impunity. Cyprus’ tax commissioner on Friday filed a criminal indictment against former directors of a…

Sri Lanka’s Former President Arrested on Corruption Charges

Corruption, Prosecutions
Former Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has been arrested and remanded on corruption charges, becoming the first head of state in the country’s history to face such a trial. The 76-year-old leader was taken into custody by the Criminal Investigation Department over allegations of misusing public funds during a 2023 trip to the U.K. Authorities say state money covered his travel and security expenses for what they describe as a private visit. Wickremesinghe, who maintains that his wife paid her own way and no public funds were misused, was initially admitted to the Prison Hospital and later transferred to the…