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The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Brussels has launched a major investigation into alleged customs fraud, corruption, and document forgery linked to operations at the Port of Antwerp, one of Europe’s largest maritime hubs. The case, code-named “Steamboat,” centers on suspicions that a network operating within the port orchestrated a large-scale scheme that caused significant losses to the European Union’s financial interests. On 20 January 2026, acting und

A bloc of 23 members of Tunisia’s parliament has put forward a draft law designed to impose far stricter controls on gambling and betting activities, with a strong emphasis on the online environment, as the country looks to rein in illegal platforms and shield vulnerable segments of society. The proposal, formally submitted on 19 January 2026, would amend Decree-Law No. 74-20 of 1974, the legislation that currently regulates fairs, gaming rooms and lotteries. The MPs behind

South Korea has approved a broad package of regulatory changes aimed at reinforcing the credibility of its capital markets and tightening its anti-money laundering framework, with the Financial Services Commission finalizing the revised rules on January 28, 2026. A central feature of the reforms is a significant expansion of mandatory English-language disclosures for listed companies, a move intended to dismantle long-standing linguistic barriers that have limited internation

A massive money laundering operation that funneled $62 million through automated teller machines across Victoria has been dismantled, resulting in significant prison sentences for the main perpetrators. Victoria Police and federal investigators traced the movement of illicit funds during a period of strict public health restrictions, uncovering a sophisticated network that exploited the convenience of intelligent deposit machines. The probe revealed that three men were respon

European Union foreign ministers reached a landmark agreement on January 29, 2026, to formally designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization, while simultaneously imposing immediate sanctions on 21 individuals and entities linked to Iran’s security apparatus. The decision includes the freezing of all assets held within the bloc’s 27 member states by Iran’s Minister of the Interior, the Prosecutor General and the Chief of Police. European official

Brazilian authorities dramatically increased their campaign against unlawful gambling activity throughout 2025, blocking more than 25,000 illegal betting platforms as the country completed its first full year operating under a regulated sports betting regime. Figures released by the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA), which operates under the Ministry of Finance, show that enforcement actions were carried out in close collaboration with the National Telecommunications

A criminal court in Kuwait has imposed seven-year prison sentences on nine individuals convicted of running an online gambling platform and laundering the proceeds through a complex financial network, in a case described by authorities as an organised criminal scheme. In addition to the custodial sentences, the court ordered each defendant to pay a fine of KD1m (approximately $3.3m). The combined personal fines total KD9m (around $29.7m). The court also levied a separate

New research from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis has identified specialised underground groups linked to Chinese money laundering operations that processed more than $16.1bn in transaction volume during the 2025 calendar year. According to the findings, these networks handled an average of roughly $44m per day and relied on at least 1,799 active digital wallet addresses to sustain their activity. Chainalysis said the growth of these organisations has dramatically o

German federal police, together with investigators from the Federal Criminal Police Office, carried out wide-ranging searches at Deutsche Bank’s corporate offices in Frankfurt and Berlin on January 28, 2026. The operation was ordered by prosecutors in Frankfurt and is directed at unidentified managers and employees suspected of breaching national financial laws. Investigators are examining whether the bank enabled transactions for foreign entities connected to individuals und

The Luxembourg Registration Duties, Estates and VAT Authority has released a major regulatory clarification through Circular 792 quater, tightening the rules governing customer identification and identity verification for all professionals under its supervision. The circular reinforces compliance with the amended Law of 12 November 2004 on combating money laundering and terrorist financing, with a particular focus on the realities of digital finance and complex legal arrangem

Argentina’s football establishment has been plunged into one of the gravest crises in its history after the Argentine Football Association (AFA) became the subject of sweeping allegations involving dirty money, serious financial irregularities, and potential money laundering. The controversy has erupted at a particularly delicate time, with the national team building toward the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the country’s football leadership now facing intense scrutiny both at home

The European Anti-Fraud Office has coordinated an extensive multinational investigation that has uncovered the unlawful export of 766 transport vehicles to Russia in direct breach of existing trade restrictions. The inquiry was launched after Polish authorities detected irregular patterns in the export of used vehicles, which prompted deeper scrutiny into the destinations declared by exporters. Investigators ultimately uncovered a highly organized logistics operation that rel

French naval forces have detained an Indian ship’s captain following the interception of an oil tanker suspected of operating within the covert maritime network that sustains Russian energy exports. The vessel, the Grinch, was stopped on the high seas and escorted under military supervision to the Gulf of Fos-sur-Mer, where it arrived on January 25, 2026. The ship’s captain, a 58-year-old Indian national, was taken into custody as part of a criminal investigation led by prose

Uganda is reporting significant gains from its revamped approach to gambling regulation, with revenue from the sector showing substantial growth. According to the country’s National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board, non-tax revenue from the gaming industry has increased nearly eight-fold, rising from Sh 1.14 billion (£232,945) in the 2019/20 financial year to Sh 8.79 billion (£1.8 million) in FY 2024/25. Annual revenue collection has also seen a dramatic rise, climbing f

Banco Santander SA has been ordered to pay a penalty exceeding €40 million following an extensive supervisory review of the anti-money laundering arrangements at its digital subsidiary, Openbank. Spain’s anti-money laundering authority, Sepblac, concluded that there were material weaknesses in the internal procedures and control systems governing Openbank’s operations in Spain. The sanction, one of the largest ever issued by the watchdog, reflects heightened regulatory pressu

Cambodia’s National Bank is intensifying measures to combat cross-border crime and money laundering as the country works to avoid being placed on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list for a third time, amid ongoing enforcement against the nation’s notorious scam hubs. According to local Chinese-language media outlet The Cambodia China Times, National Bank of Cambodia Governor Chea Serey revealed at the bank’s annual work summary meeting that the institution is bols

The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation has imposed a £160,000 monetary penalty on Bank of Scotland Plc after determining that serious shortcomings in the bank’s financial controls led to repeated breaches of UK sanctions rules. The enforcement action relates to the processing of 24 prohibited transactions connected to a customer designated under the Russia Sanctions (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. Between 8 February and 24 February 2023, the bank allowed £77,383.39 to p

Chinese prosecutors have seized close to $17 million in Bitcoin from a man accused of stealing funds from an overseas online sports betting platform, in a case that has drawn attention to the legal treatment of cryptocurrency and data-related crimes in China. According to Chinese media outlet The Paper , the suspect is a Shenzhen-based IT network security engineer. For legal reasons, media reports have identified him under the alias Li Dong. Li was first detained in 2024 by p

The Curacao Gaming Authority (CGA) has confirmed that operators licensed under the updated Landsverordening op de Kansspelen (LOK) will receive additional time to meet the law’s local substance requirements, extending the effective deadline by more than a year. In a notice dated January 23, 2026, the regulator stated that the Minister of Justice had exercised the discretion provided under Article 5.12, paragraph 6 of the LOK to grant a general extension for all affected opera

Kazakhstan’s government has approved a wide-ranging resolution aimed at significantly reinforcing the country’s safeguards against money laundering, terrorist financing, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, in what officials describe as one of the most far-reaching financial security reforms in recent years. The new measures are scheduled to take effect on November 20 and represent a comprehensive overhaul of how financial risks are identified, monitored, and