Financial Crime Weekly Episode 286

Welcome to episode 286 of the Financial Crime Weekly Podcast. I am Chris Kirkbride. In this episode, the US Treasury has targeted the Tren de Aragua cyber-fraud network, Cuban trade restrictions, and the "A7 Network" shadow banking system, while the UK has enacted 31 new Russia-related designations, extended the Sakhalin-2 oil price cap exceptions, authorised LNG maritime transport to Japan and South Korea, and initiated its annual frozen assets reporting review. On fraud, National Trading Standards in the UK has launched an AI Scam Watchlist, while US authorities have prosecuted an $80 million federal procurement set-aside fraud scheme, and a $620,000 gang-related mail theft and bank fraud ring. On bribery and corruption, federal prosecutors indicted a former restaurant supply cooperative executive in an $80 million kickback scheme, and the United States has formally notified the Council of Europe of its withdrawal from the anti-corruption monitoring body, GRECO. Finally, the episode covers SEC insider trading charges against a former pharmaceutical executive, ESMA's proposed regulatory revisions to strengthen the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets framework, and there is a £1.8 million Proceeds of Crime Act confiscation order against a former UK National Crime Agency officer following a dark web Bitcoin theft.

A transcript of this podcast, with links to the stories, will be available at www.crimes.financial.

The photograph on the podcast cover art is by Sora Shimazaki at Pexels, and the stinger sample between each news section is ‘Ben Logo 1’ by BenKirb from Pixabay.