Certain Risk - Top Stories

Donald Trump, Jr. speaking with attendees at the 2022 AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. — Edited from “Donald Trump, Jr.” by Gage Skidmore, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. Changes were made.

The Pentagon Gave a $620-Million Loan to Startup Linked to Donald Trump Jr.

A senior White House adviser personally directed the Pentagon to extend a $620 million loan to Vulcan Elements, a North Carolina rare-earth magnet startup partly owned by a venture firm tied to Donald Trump Jr.

Washington, DC USA July 29, 2024: Exterior of the U.S. Department of Justice building in downtown Washington, DC

DOJ Restores Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, for Now

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 06: Co-Founders at Winklevoss Capital, Tyler Winklevoss (L) and Cameron Winklevoss speak onstage during TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2015 - Day 3 at The Manhattan Center on May 6, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images for TechCrunch) *** Local Caption *** Tyler Winklevoss;Cameron Winklevoss NOAM GALAI — “TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2015 - Day 3” by TechCrunch / Noam Galai, Getty Images for TechCrunch, licensed under CC BY 2.0.

CFTC Seeks to Vacate Gemini’s $5mn Enforcement Following Winklevoss Ask

SPOTLIGHT

Brazil Investigates $5 Billion Fraud Tied to Fintech Firms

U.S. Regional Banks Seek Collective Answers to Trade Finance Pressures

BofA Banker Courted Epstein for Years Leading Up to His Arrest

China Sentences Former Shaolin Abbot to 24 Years for Corruption

Pressure Grows on Spain’s Leader After Police Search His Party Office

Spotlight News

1789 Capital took a stake of undisclosed size in Vulcan roughly three months before the Pentagon announced the deal in November.

ILLICIT FINANCE

The portrait of Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-Tung) (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976) from the obverse side of 1 one Chinese Yuan cash money bill banknote, issued by by People's Bank of China 1999

China Launches Biggest Crackdown on Capital Flight in Decades

Piove di Sacco, Padua, Veneto, Italy - Aug 11th, 2025: Exterior view of the Guardia di Finanza building (Italian Finance Police)

Italy Seizes over €200 Million in Assets from Deceased Costra Nostra Boss

Zurich, Switzerland - 3 June, 2015: flags at the entrance of the FIFA headquarter. FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) is the international governing body of association football (soccer), futsal and beach soccer. FIFA is responsible for the organisation of football's major international tournaments.

Is the Trump Administration Unraveling DOJ’s Landmark FIFA Bribery Case?

Veracruz, Mexico - 22 May, 2022: Zona Embarque Puerto Veracruz during daytime, Zona Portuaria.

U.S. Fuel Trader Under Investigation for Suspected Ties to Cartel Smuggling

SANCTIONS

Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivers remarks to members of the media in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room, Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)

U.S. Adds Two Brazilian Gangs to ‘Foreign Terrorist Organizations’ List

FCA Sees Industry Weaknesses in Sanctions Due Diligence, Trade Compliance

Press briefing by Francesca Albanese, Special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian Territories at UN Headquarters on October 27, 2022

Trump Administration Reimposes Sanctions on U.N. Special Rapporteur Albanese

Aeroflot - Airbus A350-900 pictured as it flies past a volcano — Edited from “Aeroflot - Airbus A350-900 - RA-73155 - 54719075612.png” by -= Nikita Zhuravlev =-, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made to the original. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aeroflot_-_Airbus_A350-900_-_RA-73155_-_54719075612.png License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Russian Airlines Rely on a Shadow Supply Chain for Boeing and Airbus Parts

OVERSIGHT

Direction sign with the Dutch text for "Court House" in Amsterdam, The Netherlands

New Dutch Study Warns Organized Crime Is Infiltrating Society

SINGAPORE – APRIL 11: Citibank offices on APRIL 11, 2012 in Singapore. Singapore is becoming the financial hub to Asia, hence every larger bank has a representation there.

Singapore Tells Private Banks to Speed Up Onboarding for Wealthy Clients

Moscow,Russia - February 5, 2018. Portrait of Vladimir Putin at the entrance to the Moscow city hall

UK Sanctions Crypto Networks for Allegedly Helping Russia Skirt Sanctions

President Donald J. Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)

U.S. Regulators to Consider Citizenship Status of Bank Customers a Risk Factor

DOCUMENTS

GI-TOC Report, ‘Artificial Intelligence for Environmental Crime Enforcement’

DOJ: Bank Insider Pleads Guilty to Facilitating Fraud Schemes at Two Financial Institutions

OFAC: Economic Fury Targets Illicit Oil Revenue Fueling Iran’s Military

U.S. State Department’s Terrorist Designation of Comando Vermelho and Primeiro Comando da Capital

FCA Report on Sanctions Systems and Controls in UK Firms

Legislation & Regulation

CRYPTO

BIS and Banks Will Soon Begin Testing Blockchain-Backed Payments Platform

Major Crypto Firms Worked with Bitcoin ATM Operators Tied to Scams

Sinaloa Networks Sanctioned for Fentanyl Trafficking, Crypto Laundering

Bitcoin Depot Files for Bankruptcy, Shuts Down After Regulatory Crackdown

Iran Launches BTC-Backed Insurer for Ships Crossing Contested Strait

TECH

Conviction of Ex-Austrian Agent Turns Another Page in Wirecard ‘Spy Novel’

SCB to Replace ‘Lower-Value Human Capital’ in Risk and Compliance with AI

In the Age of Mythos, Cyberattacks Could Hit State and Local Targets Hardest

An image of a digital head wearing a hoodie.

Crypto Heists Spur Fears Anyone Can Be an ‘Elite Hacker’ with AI

RISK MANAGEMENT

Docklands, VIC, Australia - August 31, 2025: KPMG Australia office at 727 Collins St in Docklands, West Melbourne, VIC, Australia. KPMG is a British multinational professional services network.

KPMG Australia’s CEO Steps Down as Whistleblower Scandal Grows

The chief executive of KPMG’s Australian arm and its national audit leader have resigned after the Big Four firm admitted its investigation into whistleblower allegations of data misuse had fallen short of its standards.

Hong Kong Is Now the World’s Largest Hub of Offshore Wealth

Landmark Siemens Case Drove Shift in Enforcement of Foreign-Bribery Laws

High building at Tokyo shinjuku and Mt. Fuji

Directors of Prince Group-Linked Firms Acquired Luxury Tokyo Properties

italy- sicily- corleone - road signs hit by mafia gunshots

How Criminals Their Changed Tactics in Response to EU’s Anti-Mafia Rules

Blue tram and pedestrians at a crosswalk near BNP Paribas bank at Plac Centralny im. Ronalda Reagana, Nowa Huta, Krakow, Poland, Europe.

BNP Paribas Makes Case to Overturn $21mn Sudan Human-Rights Verdict

Baltic FIUs Warn Client Migration Concentrated AML Risks at Single Digital Bank

Emerging Threats

A photo of a bunch of Pokemon trading cards piled atop one another.

Organized Crime Groups and Money Launderers Join the Pokémon Card Craze

LONDON- APRIL, 2018: National Crime Agency - UK government non- ministerial office in Westminster

NCA’s New Call to Action: Help Stop Livestreamed Child Sex Abuse

View of the vessel hardening on board a merchant ship using razor wire to stop pirates from boarding the ship. These ship protection measures are employed when the ship passes through high-risk areas

Somali Piracy Is Worsening as Global Shipping Circumvents Conflict Zones

A photo of Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi from his criminal complaint — Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, right. Source: DOJ

Iraqi Militia Commander Planned U.S. Attacks in Retaliation for Iran War: DOJ

FRAUD

Unlike the Marquis, France’s Biggest Ponzi Schemer Avoids Prison

Close up of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, former PM of Spain. — Photo: “José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero en el III Foro Mundial de Derechos Humanos 2023” by Ministerio de Cultura de la Nación, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. No changes made.

Spain’s Ex-PM Zapatero Charged with Money Laundering

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro held a joint press conference with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Brasília, Brazil. 29.05.2023

Arrest of Venezuelan ‘Bag Man’ Alex Saab Seen as Key to Maduro Prosecution

Polish presidential candidate Karol Nawrocki speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Jasionka, Poland, May 27, 2025. (DHS photo by Tia Dufour)

Polish Lawmakers Pass MiCA Bill Amid Crypto Scandal Tied to Russia

BRIBERY & CORRUPTION

(São Paulo - SP, 11/06/2019) Presidente da República, Jair Bolsonaro recebe taça das mãos do sr. Alejandro Dominguez, Presidente da Conmebol. Foto: Marcos Corrêa/PR — Photo: “14 06 2019 Abertura da Copa América Brasil 2019 (48064263156)” by Palácio do Planalto, via Wikimedia Commons/Flickr, licensed under CC BY 2.0. Cropped.

Conmebol Chief Accused of Pocketing Millions Recovered from FIFA Scandal

The president of South America’s soccer federation faces an ethics complaint alleging he took millions of dollars from funds the body recovered after the 2015 global soccer corruption scandal.

LEGAL MATTERS

Francesca Albanese in Colombia in July 2025

Federal Judge Blocks U.S. Sanctions against U.N. Special Rapporteur

New York, NY, US-November 11, 2024: The Thurgood Marshall Courthouse - US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the US District Court for the Southern District of New York

SDNY Offers Broad Leniency for Self-Reported Fraud, Even After Headlines

Faridabad, Haryana - 15 Feb 2023 - Newly opened Adani Gas fuel station

OFAC Reaches $275mn Settlement with Adani, DOJ Drops Case against Founder

Indian conglomerate Adani Enterprises Ltd. has agreed to pay $275 million to settle U.S. allegations that it imported Iranian liquefied petroleum gas through a Dubai-based middleman while routing dollar payments through American banks, OFAC disclosed on Monday.

Cybercrime

A photo of the exterior of the U.S. Treasury Department

SolarWinds Hackers Accessed Treasury Emails on Financial Crimes, Sanctions

A photo of the sign for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK.

FCA Chief Says Growing Tech Threats Will Force Agency to Triage

Street leading to the Chinatown in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone in Bokeo Province, Laos.

Scam Centers Are Becoming a Larger Security Threat, Report Finds

Washington, DC, USA - 2020 October 3: Sign of the International Monetary Fund at the Entrance of the IWF Headquarters Building

IMF Warns New AI Models Could Disrupt Global Financial Stability