Author: gracechurchfcp

Portugal’s corruption scandal spells trouble for EU’s critical minerals hunt

Corruption
BRUSSELS — The European Union’s hunt for raw materials is running into new roadblocks — at home and abroad. Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa’s recent resignation over a corruption probe in connection with lithium mining concessions in the north of the country has just dealt another blow to Brussels’ ambitions to diversify its supply of raw materials needed for green and digital technologies. Currently, the EU relies on imports to satisfy its rapidly growing hunger for lithium, a key ingredient in the batteries that power electric vehicles, with China accounting for 60 percent of global battery cell production. Brussels is…

Following Investigations by Tether, OKX, and the U.S. Department of Justice, Tether Voluntarily Freezes 225M in Stolen USDT Linked to International Crime Syndicate

Fraud
20 November 2023 — Tether, the largest company in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, and leading global crypto exchange and Web3 technology company OKX, today announced that they have assisted the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) in an investigation that led to Tether proactively and voluntarily freezing approximately 225 million in USDT tokens in external self-custodied wallets linked to an international human trafficking syndicate in Southeast Asia responsible for a global “pig butchering” romance scam. The joint investigation was conducted using tools from blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, and the action by Tether represents the largest-ever freeze of USDT in history. During…

Ukraine unveils corruption probes into reconstruction schemes

Corruption
KYIV, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Ukrainian authorities on Tuesday announced investigations into two lawmakers on suspicion of involvement in attempts to bribe top reconstruction officials, part of a closely watched campaign to stamp out high-level corruption. Kyiv has stepped up efforts to fight graft as it pursues membership of the European Union and prepares to receive billions of dollars in Western aid to rebuild from Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) said it had caught one of the lawmakers, a member of parliament’s anti-corruption committee, allegedly offering the country’s first-ever documented bribe in bitcoin. Investigators…

DWS Agrees to Pay $25m for AML Violations and ESG Misstatements

Money Laundering, Prosecutions
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken action against registered investment adviser DWS Investment Management Americas Inc. (DIMA or DWS), a subsidiary of Deutsche Bank AG, for multiple violations related to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) programs and misrepresentations regarding Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investments. As part of the settlement, DWS will pay a total of $25 million in penalties. Anti-Money Laundering Violations: In the AML enforcement action, the SEC’s order determined that DIMA caused mutual funds under its advisement to fail in developing and implementing an AML program consistent with the requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act and applicable…

OFAC Sanctions Mexican and Colombian Nationals Involved in Sinaloa Cartel

Digital Currencies, Sanctions
On September 26, 2023, the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 10 individuals involved in illegal fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine trafficking into the United States on behalf of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel. As we’ll explore below, one of those individuals controls an Ethereum address that was included as an identifier on his SDN List entry. Today’s actions represent a coordinated effort between OFAC, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Government of Mexico’s La Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera, and the Colombia Counternarcotics Working Group. Who are the sanctioned individuals and what did they do?Nine of…

EY Pays Back £15m to Santander UK

Money Laundering
SANTANDER UK’s fincrime consultants EY have paid back £15M to the bank – and no longer work for the lender, it’s been revealed. A dispute between the banking giant and the Big Four has led to the prospect of redundancies in EY’s fincrime division in the UK. EY had been recruited to work on the bank’s so-called “Project Morgan” but there was a dispute over the quality of assistance, which has now resulted in the multi-million pound refund and termination of contract. The dispute centred on the quality of work performed by EY which Santander claimed was poor, leading the…

Why keeping the UAE on FATF’s ‘grey list’ makes no sense to me

FATF, Money Laundering
June 23rd, 2023, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) have requested continued focus on the Action Plan for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and won’t be taking the UAE off the grey list early. In fact, the UAE has completed all the requirements to be taken off the list, however, the FATF traditionally does not automatically remove a grey listed country when this happens and they wait to see a continuing trend of compliance with its requirements. Initially, on 4th March 2022, UAE was added to the list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring (“Grey List”) by the FATF. Grey Listing…

U.S. Company Pays Hundreds of Millions After Alleged Bribery in Asia

Bribery, Corruption, Regulatory Fines
American chemical manufacturer Albemarle Corporation has agreed to pay more than $218 million to settle allegations of bribing officials at state oil refineries in three Asian countries, the U.S. Justice Department announced Friday. The North Carolina company admitted to using “third-party sales agents” and foreign employees to bribe officials to win contracts with state refineries in India, Indonesia and Vietnam, the department said. The department said Albemarle received nearly $100 million in profits from the corrupt scheme. Under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in the United States, it is illegal to bribe any foreign official in exchange for obtaining or…

India: Government weaponizing terrorism financing watchdog recommendations against civil society

Counter Terrorist Financing
Indian authorities are exploiting the recommendations of a global terrorism financing and money laundering watchdog to target civil society groups and activists and deliberately hinder their work, said Amnesty International in a new briefing released today. “Weaponizing counter-terrorism: India’s exploitation of terrorism financing assessments to target civil society” reveals how the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)—a global body responsible for tackling terrorism financing and money laundering—have been abused by the Indian authorities to bring in draconian laws in a coordinated campaign to stifle the non-profit sector. These laws are in turn used to bring terrorism-related charges and,…

Cyprus to Tighten Crypto Regulations in Accordance with FATF

Digital Currencies, Regulation
One of the friendliest European jurisdictions to crypto, Cyprus, might bring its industry regulation to tighter standards. According to an Oct. 10 report by the Cyprus Mail, the Cypriot Ministry of Finance intends to amend the existing Prevention and Suppression of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Law. The ministry has presented its amendments package to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal Affairs, Justice and Public Order. It seeks to align Cyprus with international standards for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), as well as the recommendations of…

Indonesia’s Former Agriculture Minister Named in Corruption Probe

Corruption
An Indonesian former government minister has been named as a suspect in a corruption probe and accused of pocketing more than US$800,000 of public money, a week after resigning from his post. Syahrul Yasin Limpo, who until recently led the agriculture ministry, is the sixth minister investigated over corruption since President Joko Widodo took office in 2014. Graft remains rampant in the massive archipelago nation, where politicians are widely seen as among the most corrupt. Limpo regularly took “illegal levies from civil servants at the agricultural ministry to pay for his and his core family’s personal needs”, Johanis Tanak, deputy…

FinCEN Proposes New Regulation to Combat Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing

Counter Terrorist Financing, Money Laundering, Regulation
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has taken a significant step in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing by announcing a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM). This NPRM identifies international Convertible Virtual Currency Mixing (CVC mixing) as a class of transactions of primary money laundering concern. The move comes in response to growing concerns regarding the extensive use of CVC mixing services by various illicit actors worldwide, including state-affiliated cyber actors, cybercriminals, and terrorist groups such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). The proposed rule…

Switzerland Probing Hamas Financing: Attorney General

Counter Terrorist Financing
The Swiss judiciary is investigating possible financing of Hamas from Switzerland despite the country not classifying the group as a terrorist organisation, its attorney general said Saturday. The investigation was opened “several weeks” before the October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel, Stefan Blaettler said, on Swiss public radio station SRF, without revealing further details. The Attorney General’s office later told AFP that the investigation was launched “on suspicion of financing Hamas from Switzerland”. The investigation is expected to be laborious because, unlike the European Union and United States, Switzerland has not placed bans on Hamas. But since the attack,…

Albania’s Former PM Sali Berisha Faces Corruption Charges Over Land Privatisation Scandal

Corruption, Money Laundering, Prosecutions
Sali Berisha and his son-in-law face corruption charges related to the alleged misuse of political influence, and Berisha is barred from leaving the country.Albania’s former prime minister Sali Berisha says that prosecutors have charged him with corruption and money laundering in connection with a land deal involving a Tirana property.Berisha, 79, said the prosecutor’s office in charge of cases against senior officials or major cases, ordered him not to leave the country. Berisha also said his son-in-law, 50-year-old Jamarber Malltezi, was arrested on the same charges at Tirana International Airport. Berisha said both he and Malltezi are innocent.“On these charges…

UK’s Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act receives Royal Assent

Money Laundering, Regulation
Robust laws to fight fraud, counter corruption and bolster legitimate business received Royal Assent today. The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act introduces world-leading powers which will allow UK authorities to proactively target organised criminals and others seeking to abuse the UK’s open economy. Companies House will receive enhanced abilities to verify the identities of company directors, remove fraudulent organisations from the company register and share information with criminal investigation agencies Law enforcement agencies will benefit from greater powers to seize, freeze and recover cryptoassets, while groundbreaking legal reforms will allow the courts to dismiss spurious lawsuits which seek to…

Money Mules Special Edition

Money Laundering
Hello and welcome to the 22nd issue of the UKFIU’s magazine SARs in Action. In this special edition wefocus on the issue of money mules, starting with an article examining common indicators of money mule accounts… Article Credit: https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/who-we-are/publications/675-sars-in-action-issue-22/file

Retired couple lied to bank while under the scammers spell

Fraud
A retired couple lied to their banks after falling under the spell of scammers who stole £86,000.Ann and James were so “brainwashed” by the promise of giving money to their children they lied when banks tried to stop their payments to fraudsters. The couple, both retired nurses, were scammed into taking out loans as well as handing over their life-savings. The financial industry said the scam tactic, known as ‘The Spell’, was the biggest challenge it faced.Ann and James, who has prostate cancer, were lured into putting their money into a bogus cryptocurrency platform after spotting an advert on social…

Criminals steal over half a billion pounds and nearly 80& of APP Fraud starts online

Fraud
UK Finance today releases its half-year fraud report, detailing the amount its members reported as stolen through fraud and scams in the first half of 2023.  Ben Donaldson, Managing Director of Economic Crime at UK Finance, said: In the first six months of this year ruthless criminals had already stolen more than half a billion pounds from victims through fraud. In addition to the financial losses, these crimes often involve callous manipulation of the victim which can cause psychological and emotional harm. As the UK Finance report shows, criminals are increasingly using social media, online platforms, texts, phone calls and…

Off the shelf AML policies put firms and clients at risk

Regulation, Regulatory Risk
The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) 2022/23 anti-money laundering (AML) report warns of the risks posed by common AML issues. Find out what steps you and your firm can take to comply with your obligations. The SRA carried out 177 law firm inspections and 73 desk-based reviews between April 2022 and April 2023. One in three (30%) of firms inspected were fully compliant with their AML obligations, with just over half (51%) partially compliant. But the SRA found 19% of firms to be non-compliant, resulting in corrective or enforcement action. Alongside the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT), the SRA has: submitted 24…

Brazil must make urgent key reforms to build on its recent progress in the fight against foreign bribery

Bribery, Corruption
9/10/2023 – Brazil has sanctioned large-scale foreign bribery schemes through non-trial resolutions with three legal persons, including as part of one of the most prominent multi-jurisdictional resolutions to date involving foreign bribery allegations. While the Working Group commends Brazil for this success, nevertheless Brazil has only a limited number of enforcement proceedings still ongoing. No natural person has yet received a final conviction for bribery of a foreign public official. The 45-country Working Group has just completed its Phase 4 evaluation of Brazil’s implementation of the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions and related…

Couple with S$325 million in assets seized in billion-dollar money laundering case denied bail

Money Laundering
SINGAPORE: A couple, among the 10 people charged in a S$2.8 billion (US$2 billion) money laundering probe, turned to court on Wednesday (Oct 18) to seek bail but failed in their attempt. The combined assets between Chinese nationals Lin Baoying, 44, and Zhang Ruijin, 45, come to about S$325 million, with Lin having the larger share of the pie. In the exchange of arguments between the prosecution and defence, with affidavits from the investigating officers involved, more information about their backgrounds were revealed. Lin faces three charges for forging documents to sell a property in Macau and for lying that…

‘El Chapo of the Cotswolds’ accused of helping to run $6.5m drugs racket from home near Bristol

Money Laundering
A man dubbed the ‘El Chapo of the Cotswolds’ faces extradition to the US on six drug charges. Matthew Grimm, a 49-year-old father of two who lives near Bristol, is accused of helping to run a $6.5million drugs racket and faces up to 120 years in prison. Officers from the National Crime Agency detained him last November after the US issued a warrant. Grimm is accused of shipping substances to US-based customers from the Netherlands via an online portal called Smokey’s Chem Site. As reported by The Mirror, the alleged operation began in 2012 and was shut down by an…

Environmental crime money easy to stash in US due to loopholes, report finds

Money Laundering
Secrecy and lax oversight have made the US a hiding place for dirty money accrued by environmental criminals in the Amazon rainforest, a report says. Illegal loggers and miners are parking sums ranging from millions to billions of dollars in US real estate and other assets, says the report, which calls on Congress and the White House to close loopholes in financial regulations that it says are contributing to the destruction of the world’s biggest tropical forest. “We are trying to show that the US is the easiest place to hide dirty money, which is a major problem not just…

IRS investigating sanctioned Russian oligarchs’ use of South Dakota Trusts

Money Laundering, Sanctions
U.S. authorities are investigating cases of Russian oligarchs evading sanctions by hiding assets in South Dakota trusts, an Internal Revenue Service agent told South Dakota Public Broadcasting. In 2021, ICIJ’s Pandora Papers investigation revealed the state had become a financial secrecy hub in the United States, due to a burgeoning trust industry courting millionaire and billionaire clients by promising privacy and wealth protection rivaling overseas tax havens. Special agent Tom Larson told SDPB that the agency had a team dedicated to uncovering assets belonging to sanctioned individuals stashing wealth in trusts through shell companies. “We’ve found that some of that…

Members of alleged Singapore Money Laundering syndicate bought London Properties worth $56M

Money Laundering
Suspected members of a massive money laundering syndicate busted in Singapore last month purchased prestige properties in London in 2021 worth almost $60 million, company and land records reviewed by OCCRP and Radio Free Asia reveal. The investments highlight the global reach of a syndicate that Singapore police say laundered the proceeds of illicit “scams and online gambling.” More than 400 officers swept in on multiple locations in the Southeast Asian city state in mid-August, arresting 10 people. Prosecutors said in a September 5 court hearing that they had seized at least $SG1.8 billion ($1.32 billion) in cash, cryptocurrencies, and…

Missed Red Flags: leak exposes Swiss Asset Management Firms work for clients accused of Fraud and Corruption

Corruption, Fraud
A data leak from Finaport, an asset manager based in Zurich, shows the firm worked with clients that included politically exposed persons, two Russians accused of embezzling funds from a bank they owned, and a businessman accused of insurance fraud. Key FindingsA data leak in 2022 from Finaport shows that this asset management company provided services to clients who were embroiled in legal scandals at the time.A Finaport client withdrew more than $500 million from an account at a Russian bank that later collapsed.Another client established bank accounts under an alternative identity and moved money into it despite concerns raised…

More than 70 years in jail for money laundering and people smuggling network dismantled by the NCA

Money Laundering
Sixteen people who were part of a West London-based organised crime group involved in international money laundering and people smuggling have been given jail sentences totalling more than 70 years. A National Crime Agency investigation identified that members of the network were likely to have smuggled around £70 million in cash out of the UK, making hundreds of trips to Dubai, UAE, between 2017 and 2019. OCG custody imagesCharan Singh; Valjeet Singh; Swander Dhal; Amarjeet Alabadis; Diljan Malhotra;Jackdar Kapoor; Jaginder Singh Kapoor; Jasbeer Malhotra; Jasbir Dhal; Jasbir Kapoor;Joe Round; Louise Smith; Manmon Kapur; Mircea Denes; Pinky Kapur; Sundar Vengadassalam NCA…

New Europol report shines light on multi billion euro underground criminal economy

Financial Crime
The world is getting smaller, as trade, communication and infrastructure on a global scale brings us closer together. However, there is another, darker, side to the coin: our interconnected world is being abused by criminals who have created an underground economy to sustain their illegal operations. Europol’s first ever threat assessment on the topic, ‘The other side of the coin: an analysis of financial and economic crime in the EU’, sheds a light on this system which, from the shadows, sustains the finances of criminals worldwide. The report is based on a combination of operational insights and strategic intelligence contributed…

Criminals and oligarchs are hiding wealth in secretive Dutch foundations, new investigation finds

Money Laundering
A discrete Dutch legal structure, favored by family-owned businesses, has become a popular tool for oligarchs and other bad actors to hide their wealth and evade taxes, a new investigation from Follow the Money found. Over the past two decades, financial service providers worldwide have increasingly touted the use of trust office foundations, or STAKs (short for stichting administratiekantoor), which only reveal the names of company directors, concealing actual stakeholders and their assets. Currently, an estimated 21,000 STAKs are registered in the Netherlands, according to FTM. The investigative outlet used ICIJ’s Pandora Papers leak, which contained nearly 12 million documents…

FinCEN analysis reveals trends and patterns in suspicious activity potentially tied to evasion of Russia Related Export Controls

Sanctions
WASHINGTON—Today, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a Financial Trend Analysis (FTA) on patterns and trends contained in Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) reporting on suspected evasion of Russia-related export controls. The BSA reports analyzed for this FTA were filed in response to previous joint Alerts on this topic and indicate almost $1 billion in suspicious activity. “Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, FinCEN and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued two joint Alerts urging vigilance on the part of U.S. financial institutions for potential attempts by Russia to evade U.S. export controls,” said Acting…

Zelenskyy’s Corruption Crackdown Plan Raises Cover-up Fears

Corruption
KYIV — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s move to equate wartime corruption with treason is triggering a backlash from officials and watchdogs, who warn the plan could hobble Ukraine’s main anti-graft forces. Two senior officials following the proposal, who were granted anonymity to speak candidly, say concerns are growing within Ukraine’s anti-graft agencies that Zelenskyy’s plan will take top corruption cases away from their oversight and pass them to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), which falls under the president’s command. The SBU could, potentially, have the power to bury corruption cases involving top officials. The move, the officials say, could put…

Wise Payments Faces Scrutiny from UK Government Over Alleged Breach of Russian Sanctions

Sanctions
Wise Payments Limited (“Wise”), a UK-based financial services provider, is under scrutiny after an investigation by the UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) revealed potential violations of sanctions imposed on Russia. The sanctions in question stem from The Russia (Sanctions) EU Exit Regulations 2019 and are aimed at restricting certain Russian individuals, entities, companies, and their subsidiaries from accessing and using their assets. These measures were put in place in response to Russia’s actions, including its annexation of Crimea and its involvement in conflicts in Eastern Ukraine. The breach in question pertains to a cash withdrawal of £250 made…

Switzerland Proposes to Strengthen Anti-Money Laundering Laws

Money Laundering, Regulation
The Swiss government stated its intentions Wednesday to strengthen its anti-money laundering laws, in a bill that, if passed, would bring its financial due diligence measures closer in line with international standards. Switzerland, which has shielded the wealth of the world’s criminals and corrupt, has now proposed to strengthen its anti-money laundering laws. (Photo: Wally Gobetz, Flickr, License)Switzerland’s seven-member Federal Council, among them Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter, proposed a series of reforms meant to restore the country’s integrity as a global banking hub, which has suffered several black eyes over the years for keeping the ill-gotten gains of the world’s…

U.K. Regulator Publishes 5 Top Advices to Ensure Banks and Fintech Adhere to Russian Sanctions Regime

KYC, Sanctions
BRITISH regulator the Financial Conduct Authority has published new advice on an adhering to the country’s sanctions regime. The authority “the unprecedented size, scale, and complexity of sanctions imposed by the UK Government and international partners since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has further increased our focus on firms’ sanctions systems and controls.” The FCA said it had been engaged in a substantial programme of work assessing the systems and controls relating to sanctions compliance for over 90 firms across a range of sectors. This has involved proactive assessments of firms’ controls, using a new analytics-based tool, as well as the…

Oligarchs Weaponized Cyprus Branch of Ukraine’s Largest Bank to Send $5.5 Billion Abroad

Fraud
The former chairwoman of Ukraine’s central bank dubbed it one of the biggest financial scandals of the 21st century. Valeria Hontareva was describing the alleged theft of US$5.5 billion from PrivatBank, once the country’s largest commercial lender. The suspected masterminds are the bank’s two oligarch owners: Ihor Kolomoisky and Hennadiy Boholiubov, who stand accused of absconding with an amount roughly equal to 5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. According to court records, both men are said to have recently been living in Switzerland, though Kolomoisky appears to be spending time in Israel. Reporters also uncovered numerous previously unknown…

Europe’s Massive Money Laundering and Corruption Problem; Crime Gangs Exploit Fintech, vIBANs and DeFi

Corruption, Money Laundering
HE GROWING sophistication of money laundering by organised crime in the EU is exposed in a Europol report today (Monday) – which also highlights the bloc’s increasing public and private sector corruption problem. All new forms of financial services, including fintech, DeFi and vIBANs – as well as Artificial Intelligence – are increasingly being exploited by criminal networks to launder drugs money and commit fraud, says the economic crime report. Starkly, the report also find that more than 60% of the crime gangs operating in the EU use corruptive methods to achieve their illicit objectives. It finds almost 70% of…

Hackers Steal $53m Worth of Cryptocurrency from CoinEx

Digital Currencies, Financial Crime
Global cryptocurrency exchange CoinEX announced that someone hacked its hot wallets and stole large amounts of digital assets that were used to support the platform’s operations. The incident occurred on September 12 and preliminary results of the investigation show that the unauthorized transactions involved Ethereum ($ETH), Tron ($TRON), and Polygon ($MATIC) cryptocurrency. CoinEx has not provided any info about the financial impact incurred, as the investigation has yet to determine the complete losses. However, a report from blockchain security firm PeckShield says that the attack drained CoinEx of about $19 million in $ETH, $11 million in $TRON, $6.4 million in…

China Insurance Boss Jailed for Life in Corruption Crackdown

Corruption, Prosecutions
The former chairman of China Life Insurance, Wang Bin, has become the latest high-profile boss to be imprisoned as Beijing’s crackdown on the financial industry continues.Mr Wang was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, according to a court ruling seen by the BBC. After two years, the sentence will be commuted to life in prison without parole, the ruling says. In April, authorities warned that the crackdown was far from over. A court in Jinan in eastern China’s Shandong province found Mr Wang guilty of taking 325 million yuan ($44.6m; £35.7m) in bribes.Mr Wang, who was the firm’s Communist…

U.S. Authorities Warn of “Pig Butchering” Investment Scam

Fraud
The United States has urged financial institutions to pay attention and recognize an infamous virtual currency investment scam known as “pig butchering,” believed to have cost victims in the U.S. billions of dollars. Cryptocurrency investment scam known as “pig butchering” is estimated to have cost victims in the U.S. billions of dollars. (Photo: Jernej Furman, Flickr, License)The U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued the alert on Friday, detailing the scam’s approach and providing behavioral, financial, and technological red flags to help identify and report associated suspicious activity. The “Pig butchering” fraud, according to FinCEN, is similar to the technique…

Ransomware Attacks Remain Biggest Cyber Menace

Cyber Crime, Fraud
RANSOMWARE attacks remain the most prominent cyber attack menace, European police forces said in a report today. It comes in a comprehensive analysis from Europol, titled “Cyber-attacks: the apex of crime-as-a-service.” The report, a part of the so-called IOCTA 2023 series, examines cyber-attacks, offering insights into emerging threats and evolving methodologies as observed by Europol’s operational analysts. Evolving cybersecurity and online fraud issues will be discussed at the forthcoming ‘Cybersecurity & Online Fraud Summit 2023‘ taking place in Dublin on November 29 next. The key findings of the Europol report include: Malware-based cyber-attacks, primarily ransomware, remain the “most prominent threat”…