Month: March 2026

Taiwan and Singapore Add to Growing Action Against Alleged Cambodian Crime Group

Fraud
The Taipei District Prosecutors Office announced Wednesday that it has indicted 62 individuals and 13 companies and seized more than $170 million in assets linked to Prince Group, heightening global action against the Cambodia-based conglomerate accused of running extensive online fraud operations. Included among the three principal defendants in the Taiwanese charges is Chen Zhi, the chairman of Prince Group who was extradited from Cambodia to Beijing earlier this year Chen Zhi’s legal representatives did not respond to a request for comment before publication. The Prince Group has said allegations made by U.S. and U.K. authorities are “baseless and appear…

Tunisia Jails Ex Prime Minister and Billionaire in Major Corruption Ruling

Corruption, Prosecutions
A Tunisian court has handed prison sentences to former Prime Minister Youssef Chahed, businessman Marouan Mabrouk—the son-in-law of former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali—and several other former ministers on corruption charges. Chahed, who served as prime minister between 2016 and 2020, was sentenced Monday to six years in prison, along with former ministers including the foreign minister, finance minister, state property minister, human rights minister, and information and communications technology minister, the state-run TAP news agency reported Tuesday, citing a judicial source. The court also ordered each defendant to pay a fine of 800 million dinars (about $276 million).…

U.K. Lifts Sanctions on British Financier Tied to Russia’s Shadow Fleet

Sanctions
The U.K. government this week lifted sanctions against a British financier who purchased ships that later became part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, following his public warning that others should avoid any business dealings that could support Moscow. John Michael Ormerod, 75, was added to the U.K. sanctions list in May 2025 after acquiring dozens of second-hand tankers that Lukoil, Russia’s second-largest oil producer, used to transport billions of dollars’ worth of oil. In a February statement, Ormerod said the designation — a rare case of a Western government sanctioning one of its own citizens — had a “devastating impact”…

Report Describes Crypto’s $350 Billion Shadow War

Sanctions
Crime syndicates and hostile states — specifically Russia, North Korea and Iran — are increasingly turning to cryptocurrency to launder money and evade sanctions, according to a new report that estimates $350 billion has been laundered globally between 2005 and 2025. The study, Confronting the Illicit-Finance Hydra in Crypto Markets: Protecting Retail Investors and Disrupting Hostile Government Exploitation, examined 164 documented money-laundering cases over the past two decades. It found that cryptocurrency has enabled designated individuals, terrorist groups and entire countries to sidestep sanctions and “process billions of dollars, either voluntarily or involuntarily.” In an interview with Organized Crime and…

Jailed Istanbul Mayor İmamoğlu Faces Mass Corruption Trial

Corruption, Prosecutions
The imprisoned former mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu, appeared in court on Monday to face sweeping corruption and organized crime charges in a mass trial that rights groups say is politically motivated and could result in a prison sentence of more than 2,000 years. İmamoğlu, a leading rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is being tried alongside more than 400 co-defendants, most of them officials or associates tied to the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, which he has led since 2019. Prosecutors accuse him of heading a criminal organization that allegedly used municipal contracts, bribery and rigged tenders to generate money and…

Sanctioned Alleged Member of ‘Criminal’ Conglomerate Bought $17 Million in London Properties

Sanctions
An alleged member of Prince Group — the Cambodia-based conglomerate the U.S. calls a “transnational criminal organization” — owns at least $17-million worth of London properties, company and land records show. Yang Jian was named in a sanctions notice last year in a list of 146 U.S. Department of the Treasury targets for alleged online fraud and human trafficking by the Prince Group. Records show that Yang Jian purchased a dozen house units and at least 17 car parking spaces in an adjoining garage through a U.K. company he established with his Cypriot passport in December 2021. Conveyancing documents filed…

AI Accelerates UK Fraud Cases to a Record 444,000 in 2025

Fraud
Fraud in the United Kingdom surged to unprecedented levels in 2025, with reported cases hitting a record 444,000, according to new data released Thursday by the fraud prevention service Cifas. In its annual Fraudscape report, the agency noted that an average of more than 1,200 fraud cases were recorded daily. Identity fraud remained the most prevalent threat, accounting for 54 percent of all filings, followed by misuse of facility, which represented 24 percent of cases. The agency cautioned that fraud has become an industrialized, cross-border threat, with criminal syndicates now “mimicking the size and structure of large corporations,” according to…

German Prosecutors Target Providers of Software Used to Steal Millions in Online Trading Scams

Fraud
In a sign that prosecutors in Germany’s Bamberg region are ramping up efforts to fight cybercrime, a court has begun hearing its second case involving a person accused of providing software allegedly designed to facilitate fake investment scams. While legal action has most often targeted people running cyberfraud operations, Bavaria’s Bamberg Regional Court this month began another trial of someone who ran a company that allegedly enabled scammers. Opening arguments began on March 2 in the trial of a man identified only as “Shay B.” To protect privacy, full names are typically not disclosed to media in German trials. He…

France’s Ex-President Sarkozy Appeals Conviction in Libya Corruption Case

Corruption, Prosecutions
Anti-corruption watchdogs are closely monitoring the historic appeals trial of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy this week, pointing to his conviction for soliciting illegal campaign cash from the Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi as a stark reminder that top-level political graft is never a victimless crime. The 71-year-old former president is challenging a September ruling that sentenced him to five years in prison, a 100,000-euro (about $117,000) fine and a five-year ban from public office. He was acquitted on several other counts due to insufficient evidence, and ultimately spent only 20 days behind bars before an appeals court ordered his release.…

Philippine Vice President Faces Impeachment Over Corruption and Assassination Threats

Corruption, Prosecutions
Philippine lawmakers on Wednesday opened formal impeachment hearings against Vice President Sara Duterte, initiating a high-stakes political showdown fueled by accusations of massive corruption and extraordinary threats to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The proceedings represent a stunning rupture between the country’s two top leaders. Duterte, 47, faces a litany of severe charges, most notably the alleged embezzlement of 612.5 million pesos (about $10.19 million) in confidential government funds during her first 18 months in power. According to reporting by OCCRP’s media partner in the Philippines, Rappler, the sweeping complaints transmitted to the House of Representatives include financial fraud, corruption…

A Billion-Dollar Casino Scheme and a Murder in Cambodia Expose Taiwan’s Underworld

Financial Crime
In a stark illustration of the sprawling scale and violent stakes of Taiwan’s criminal underworld, authorities announced the indictment of 10 individuals in a $1.03 billion money laundering scheme on the same day a notorious gambling fugitive was assassinated in Cambodia. The twin developments highlight how Taiwanese illicit financial networks routinely exploit regional borders to wash illegal proceeds and evade justice across Southeast Asia. According to a statement from the Yunlin District Prosecutors Office, a sophisticated criminal syndicate successfully laundered more than NT$33 billion ($1.03 billion) in illegal gambling profits by exploiting credit card loopholes on the gaming floors of Macau,…

Arrest made in multi-million pound waste packaging fraud case

Fraud, Money Laundering
An individual in Birmingham has been arrested as part of an investigation into waste plastic packaging fraud and money laundering, the Environment Agency has announced today (Thursday 26 March 2026). In a dawn operation taking place yesterday (Wednesday 25 March 2026), officers from the Environment Agency worked with West Midlands Police to arrest a 49 year old man for conspiracy to defraud and money laundering. The arrest relates to a complex investigation which involves fraud within the Packaging Producer Responsibility (PPR) regime. This is a system that allows exporters and reprocessors, accredited by the Environment Agency, to sell credits for…

INTERPOL report warns of increasingly sophisticated global financial fraud threat

Financial Crime
Financial fraud is now one of the world’s most severe and rapidly evolving transnational crimes, with significant economic and human consequences.The 2026 INTERPOL Global Financial Fraud Threat Assessment warns that with increased global criminal collaboration, fraud is no longer a peripheral threat, it is at the centre of polycriminality, intersecting with organized crime, human trafficking and cybercrime.Key findings include:AI-enhanced fraud is 4.5 times more profitable than traditional methods. “Agentic AI” systems can autonomously plan and execute complete fraud campaigns – from reconnaissance to ransom demands.Sextortion is now being systematically integrated into scams such as romance and investment fraud often using…

Major operation targets one of Scotland’s most violent crime networks

Organised Crime
One of Scotland’s most violent organised crime networks has been hit in an international operation across Spain, Türkiye, and the United Kingdom, with coordination from Europol and Eurojust. On 27 March 2026, authorities arrested 13 suspects linked to a network suspected of moving hundreds of kilograms of cocaine into Scotland and laundering millions in criminal profits. The action day brought together authorities from Spain and the United Kingdom, with Europol deployed on the ground to support the enforcement phase. Authorities from the United Arab Emirates and Türkiye also contributed to the operation.Open in modalMajor operation targets one of Scotland’s most…

New sanctions to crackdown on large-scale fraud

Fraud
The Isle of Man has brought in new sanctions as part of an international crackdown on a criminal network linked to large-scale online fraud and human trafficking, the government has said.The Treasury said measures were in line with the UK and formed part of a wider operation involving the US and other international agencies.It said the sanctions aimed to target individuals and organisations linked to purpose-built “scam compounds” in south east Asia, where trafficked people were forced to carry out online fraud.Home Affairs Minister Jane Poole-Wilson said: “Working with our international partners is essential in tackling serious criminal groups.”She said:…

Star’s former CEO and lawyer broke Corporations Act, Chinese money laundering case judgement find

Money Laundering
Star’s former top boss and its legal counsel both breached their director’s duties during the casino’s scandalous Chinese money laundering era, the Federal Court has found. In a seething judgement, Justice Michael Lee found only partly in favour of the corporate regulator ASIC, which bought the case against a group of Star executives and directors in 2022. ASIC’s case was filed after news of the explosive money laundering scandal broke at Australia’s second biggest casino. The culture of senior management was “dysfunctional” and “unethical”, Justice Lee noted in his remarks. He added that it fell to investigative journalism and a…