India’s financial crime enforcement authority announced on Thursday that it has taken into custody Manoj Gaur, the former chairman of Jaypee Infratech, over allegations that he diverted funds collected from thousands of home buyers. The company, once a prominent name in India’s real estate and infrastructure sectors, had been responsible for major housing developments in Noida as well as construction of the Yamuna Expressway, the 165-kilometre (100-mile) roadway that links No

Italy’s Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM) has revised its Multi-year Investment Plan for 2025–2027, allocating €28 million specifically toward the digital transformation and regulatory enhancement of the national gaming framework.   This funding forms a notable component of the broader €500 million modernisation initiative and highlights the strategic importance of gaming within Italy’s wider technological and organisational reform agenda. The investment focuses on reinforc

The sweeping international action that dismantled more than a thousand servers linked to the Rhadamanthys infostealer, the VenomRAT remote-access malware, and the Elysium botnet uncovered far more than a vast malware ecosystem. Beneath the surface of these interconnected tools lay an extensive financial crime infrastructure that quietly pushed illicit proceeds through anonymized transfers, shell entities, and digital asset mixers. The cross-border coordination behind the take

S&P Global Ratings shifted its outlook for the Cypriot economy to “positive” from “stable” late on Friday, pointing to a faster-than-anticipated improvement in the country’s external debt metrics.   The agency confirmed the Republic of Cyprus’ credit score at “A-/A-2” for both long-term and short-term obligations, in domestic and foreign currency.   According to S&P, the upgraded outlook reflects its expectation that Cyprus’ external position will exceed current forecasts ove

Casinos de France, the leading organisation representing the nation’s brick-and-mortar casinos, has issued a firm rejection of any government initiative aimed at authorising online casino gaming.   Their stance comes as renewed pressure builds to revamp France’s digital gambling framework amid rising concerns over illicit online operators. At present, France only permits online sports betting, horse-race wagering and poker, leaving casino-style games strictly off-limits.   Ac

On November 13, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a formal finding and a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) declaring that transactions connected to ten specific gambling operations in Mexico constitute a class of activity posing a primary money laundering threat. The agency laid out a proposal to block these establishments from utilizing the U.S. financial system by instituting a special measure that would bar covere

In Southeast Asia, a sophisticated financial crime ecosystem has taken shape, where armed groups, organized criminal networks, and cyber-fraud operations intersect to exploit victims worldwide and launder illicit proceeds. A recent U.S. enforcement action highlights the scale and complexity of this threat, illustrating how money laundering can underpin both human trafficking and cyber-enabled fraud in conflict zones. The investigation focuses on the Democratic Karen Benevolen

Fraud networks have always depended on deception, but the surge in holiday-season scams is exposing a far more entrenched threat: the large-scale use of fabricated eCommerce stores and stolen identities to move illicit money through the financial system. What appears to be another spike in consumer fraud actually conceals a sophisticated laundering architecture fueled by synthetic identities, unvetted merchants, and rapid, opaque digital payments. During peak shopping periods

A newly proposed overhaul of Macau’s advertising legislation could open the door to limited exceptions under the city’s long-standing prohibition on gaming-related advertising.   The Executive Council of Macau has completed its review of a draft bill titled Advertising Law, which seeks to replace the territory’s more than 35-year-old advertising regulations with updated provisions covering key sectors, including real estate, healthcare, and gambling.   According to the govern

Philippine gaming operators recorded PHP94.51 billion in gross gaming revenue (GGR) for the third quarter of 2025, a marginal decline from the PHP94.61 billion posted in the same period last year, according to figures released by the Philippine News Agency. The e-games sector saw a 17% increase, generating PHP41.95 billion compared with PHP35.71 billion in the third quarter of 2024. However, much of that growth was driven by strong activity in July, before the mandatory delin

The European Union is preparing a new proposal to the United States aimed at advancing the next phase of the trade deal reached between the two sides earlier this summer, according to people familiar with the matter.   The plan, which has not yet been announced in the US, will center on five key areas, including the lowering of rates for additional products such as wines and spirits.   The initiative comes ahead of a meeting later this month between EU trade chief Maros Sefco

Brazil is poised to become a pioneer in global tax reform with the introduction of a unique value-added tax (VAT) system that promises to create a more competitive and investor-friendly economy, according to a new working paper published by the OECD Economics Department. The paper, titled “The reform of Brazil’s consumption tax system,” was released on Monday, November 10, and authored by OECD policy experts Jens Mathias Arnold, Piet Battiau, Falilou Fall and Karoline Spies.

UK authorities have stepped up their campaign against criminal organizations using everyday retail businesses to launder illicit funds. A sweeping national operation has targeted thousands of high street premises suspected of concealing criminal revenue, exposing the scale at which cash-intensive shops serve as gateways for money laundering. The latest enforcement action revealed how small, seemingly ordinary stores can evolve into major laundering channels. Investigators unc

A comprehensive new study from Norway has revealed that young people exhibiting symptoms of gaming problems are significantly more likely to engage in gambling, with the trend being particularly pronounced among girls.   The findings come amid a doubling of gaming disorder rates among Norwegian youth over the past 15 years.   The nationwide survey was conducted by the University of Bergen’s Norwegian Competence Center for Gaming and Gambling Research (SPILLFORSK) and commissi

Cyprus ranked among the European Union member states where foreign-controlled companies accounted for the smallest share of employment and economic output in 2023, according to data published by Eurostat on Wednesday. Despite the significant overall impact of foreign-controlled enterprises across the EU, their presence in Cyprus remains comparatively limited. Based on figures that include both employees and self-employed individuals, foreign-controlled enterprises in Cyprus r

A 47-year-old woman in the United Kingdom has been sentenced to 11 years in prison after authorities uncovered her role in controlling a vast cryptocurrency laundering operation tied to an international investment fraud. Investigators found that she attempted to convert billions in digital assets into luxury properties, jewelry, and cash, using complex schemes to disguise the true source of the funds. According to law enforcement, the woman spent several years amassing large

Strengthening player safety through an effective fight against the illegal gambling market and building public trust were emphasized as key priorities by the President of the National Betting Authority (NBA), Panagiotis Trisokkas, who represented the Authority at the SiGMA Central Europe Summit held in Rome from November 4 to 6. The SiGMA Central Europe Summit, one of the leading international gatherings in the gaming sector, brought together thousands of professionals, regul

Former Speaker of the House Arthur Lira has called on Brazil’s Federal Government to focus on combating illegal betting operations before pursuing higher taxes on licensed companies.   Speaking to journalists during an event in São Paulo, Lira said that betting is “inevitable” in Brazil and argued that prohibition is not an effective approach to managing the industry.   The congressman emphasized that authorities should prioritize enforcement against unlicensed betting platfo

The $456 million reserve shortfall that prompted Justin Sun to bail out holders of the TrueUSD stablecoin is now the subject of a global freezing order upheld by Dubai’s Digital Economy Court. The dispute revolves around whether funds from TrueUSD’s reserves were improperly directed to Aria Commodities DMCC, a Dubai-based trade-finance firm involved in financing commodity shipments, mining projects, and other illiquid ventures across emerging markets, according to counsel for

The Bank of Cyprus announced on Tuesday that it achieved a profit after tax of €353 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, maintaining stable profitability and reinforcing shareholder confidence amid continued economic resilience. “We are pleased to announce another set of strong financial results, generating in the first nine months of 2025 a profit after tax of €353m,” said Bank of Cyprus CEO Panicos Nicolaou. “This performance reflects the resilience of our