Reported by CHRISTOPHER TEPEDINO In the post-mortem of the $1.5 billion Bybit hack, two blockchain research organizations — Nansen and Chainalysis — have revealed the Lazarus Group’s money laundering strategy, which includes swapping illiquid assets for liquid assets, creating a complex money trail, and letting certain wallets sit dormant to let scrutiny die down. According to Nansen, […]

Reported by Steve Marshall (Summarized version featured below) Digital payments are expanding rapidly, driven by increasing consumer demand, new payment providers, and the acceleration of instant payment systems. These advancements offer significant benefits but also create new vulnerabilities to financial crime (FinCrime), such as money laundering and sanctions violations. To keep pace, financial institutions (FIs) […]

Reported by Richard Vanderford The U.S. is ratcheting up sanctions targeting Iran’s oil supply chain, continuing the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign to effectively blockade the country’s petroleum exports, the Treasury Department said. More than 30 entities, individuals and vessels connected with Iran’s so-called shadow fleet have been hit with new U.S. sanctions, Treasury said […]

Reported by Ross O’Keefe A group of House Republicansled by Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) is introducing legislation aimed at crippling fentanyl trafficking by imposing financial sanctions. The bill permits the Treasury Department secretary to take action if financial institutions outside the United States are suspected of facilitating money laundering for narcotics purposes. The legislation would also allow the Treasury to […]

Reported by ABC News An alleged Mexican drug cartel leader was extradited to the Unites States over the weekend, according to federal prosecutors. Jesús Ricardo Patrón Sánchez was allegedly the leader of Mexico’s H-2 drug cartel. His nicknames included “Diabolic,” “James Bond” and “Xmen.” He allegedly sat atop a “brutally violent” narcotics trafficking enterprise “that […]

Reported by Zack Abrams As the Lazarus Group, widely believed to be behind the recent $1.4 billion hack of Bybit, attempts to launder the stolen proceeds, non-KYC centralized exchange eXch is denying accusations that its service is being used to “mix” the funds.  “We are not laundering money for Lazarus/DPRK,” eXch wrote in a post on the forum […]

Reported by Tony Bartelme and Glenn Smith (Summary version featured below) In a complex international financial scheme, a Nigerian businessman has been implicated in laundering millions of dollars through real estate investments in Aiken, South Carolina. The individual, whose identity has not been disclosed, is alleged to have funneled illicit funds into the United States, […]

Reported by JIM MORRIS Associated Press Canada is designating seven Latin American criminal organizations as terrorist entities under the country’s Criminal Code, giving Canadian law enforcement another tool in the fight against fentanyl trafficking, Public Safety Minister David McGuinty said Thursday. The list includes Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, Jalisco New Generation Cartel and La Nueva Familia […]

Reported by Patricia Kowsmann, Dylan Tokar and Brian Spegele (Summary version featured below) On an October morning in 2022, a white pickup truck pulled into the parking lot of a Global Fresh Market, stopping beside a blue Maserati. Within moments, a man handed over a large black bag, allegedly filled with $300,000 in cash. The exchange, closely watched […]

Here are five key takeaways from the client alert issued by the law firm Polsinelli (Bill Quick, Philip Feigen, Bert Stemmler, and Mark Olthoff): Read full report: https://www.polsinelli.com/publications/important-update-corporate-transparency-act-filing-obligations-reinstated-and-mandatory