Reported by: NORMAN SILVESTER A vodka firm said to be a front for an international money laundering gang is on the verge of collapse. Nero Drinks Company was formed by 47-year-old Nicola Morrissey in March 2018 to manufacture the “premium” Nero Vodka brand. Last September both Nicola, from Glasgow, and her Liverpool-born husband Johnny Morrissey, 62, […]
Reported by: Tom Parfitt A Russian billionaire under investigation in Switzerland helped to finance the Tom Cruise blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick, a US lawsuit has revealed. Dmitry Rybolovlev is said to have exercised “functional control” over a production company that signed a $200 million deal in 2020 with the Hollywood giant Paramount Pictures to fund up […]
Reported by Sharyn Alfonsi After Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. and its allies responded with sanctions targeting companies, oligarchs and officials with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Headlines trumpeted the trophies of Russian oligarchs seized throughout Europe – yachts in Italy, villas in the south of France and priceless art in […]
Reported by: Jonathan Guthrie Nations challenged by the so-called “tyranny of the dollar” are quietly buying gold to replace foreign currency in reserves or for other purposes. Russia springs to mind: most of its government institutions, banks and bigwigs are covered by sanctions. China is also subject to a growing raft of trade curbs amid […]
Reported by: Daniel Flatley Brian Nelson, the Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, will go to Seattle, San Francisco and San Diego this month to warn banks against overcompliance such as cutting people off from services over fears of running afoul of sanctions. His push highlights a challenge the US faces with sanctions: Successive administrations have […]
Reported By Roger Cohen Seated in the domed, red sandstone government building unveiled by the British Raj less than two decades before India threw off imperial rule, S. Jaishankar, the Indian foreign minister, needs no reminder of how the tides of history sweep away antiquated systems to usher in the new. Such, he believes, is […]
Reported by: Darya Dolzikova, Daniel Salisbury On December 16, CIA Director William Burns expressed concern over what he believes to be “at least the beginnings of a full-fledged defense partnership” between Iran and Russia. A few days earlier, the Russian military launched a wave of Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in an attack on Kyiv. These developments followed months […]
Reported by: Nina Zdinjak Russian billionaire and a former owner of the Chelsea Football Club, which plays in the English Premier League, Roman Abramovich, has been secretly investing in cannabis companies for years. According to leaked documents, sourced and shared by Forensic News, a Russian oligarch known for his close ties to Russian leader Vladimir Putin has helped fund the two biggest […]
Reported by: bne IntelIiNews VTB, the Kremlin’s second-largest bank, has announced it will launch cross-border bank transfers in Iranian rials, in direct contravention of US sanctions, Kommersantnewspaper reported on December 19. Retail and commercial account holders of VTB will be able to transfer amounts of up to $300,000 (RUB20mn) in an equivalent rial (IRR) amounts. According to the […]
Reported by: Joe Parkin Daniels in Bogotá and Felicia Schwartz in Washington The US on Saturday authorised Chevron to resume oil production through its joint ventures in Venezuela, after the socialist government in Caracas and the opposition resumed political talks in Mexico City. On Saturday, representatives of the Venezuelan government and the opposition returned to political negotiations in […]
Financial Crime News Briefs 