This month’s top stories:
- INTERPOL establishes pilot phase of Silver Notice to aid in the tracing and recovery of criminal assets;
- Trial of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy over alleged illegal campaign financing links to Muammar Gaddafi begins; and
- Serbian oil company NIS sanctioned by US due to majority ownership by Russian state.
Middle East and North Africa
Libya/France: Former President Sarkozy on trial in Paris over alleged illegal campaign financing links to Muammar Gaddafi
On 6 January, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy (2007-2012) went on trial in Paris over allegations of illegally financing his 2007 presidential campaign with funds received from the late Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi. Sarkozy is accused of accepting over EUR 50 million from Gaddafi, in exchange for which Libya requested diplomatic, legal, and business favours. Sarkozy has continuously denied any wrongdoing. The trial, which includes 11 other defendants, among them former ministers, is set to continue until April this year, with Sarkozy facing charges of passive corruption, illegal campaign financing, concealment of embezzlement of public funds, and criminal association. If convicted, he could face a prison sentence of up to 10 years and a EUR 375,000 fine. Since his tenure as president ended in 2012, Sarkozy has been the subject of several criminal investigations by the French authorities. In February 2024, the Court of Cassation, France's highest court, upheld Sarkozy’s conviction for corruption and influence peddling while in office and sentenced him to one year under house arrest.
Europe
INTERPOL establishes pilot phase of Silver Notice to aid in the tracing and recovery of criminal assets
On 10 January, the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) launched the pilot phase of the Silver Notice, an addition to its colour-coded notices which allows member countries to request information on assets belonging to individuals associated with criminal activity. According to INTERPOL, the Silver Notice represents an important step in the fight against transnational organised crime, as it may facilitate the exchange of information to support asset recovery. The Silver Notice’s pilot phase includes 52 of the 196 member countries and will last until November 2025.
Serbia: Oil company NIS sanctioned by US due to majority ownership by Russian state
On 10 January, the US imposed sanctions on Serbian oil company Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) as part of new sanctions targeting Gazprom Neft, its Russian state-owned majority shareholder. In response, on 11 January, Serbia’s president Aleksandar Vučić announced that the Serbian state was ready to buy Russia’s stake in NIS as this would allow the US to lift sanctions on the Serbian company. The transaction must be closed by 25 February, although Serbia can ask to delay part of the payment to 12 March. These sanctions will likely lead to Serbia diversifying its energy partnerships, and the country has already agreed to accelerate investments in joint energy projects with Hungary, including a planned electricity transmission line and a planned oil pipeline connection.
UK: Treasury minister resigns following anti-corruption investigation in Bangladesh
On 14 January, Tulip Siddiq, the UK’s Economic Secretary to the Treasury since July 2024, resigned after she was named in two anti-corruption investigations in Bangladesh related to her aunt, Sheikh Hasina Wazed, the former Bangladeshi prime minister (1996-2001; 2009-2024) who resigned in August 2024. The Bangladeshi Anti-Corruption Commission filed a criminal case against Hasina and members of her family, including Siddiq, on 13 January. According to information uncovered by these investigations, Siddiq’s family members allegedly embezzled up to GBP 3.9 billion from a 2013 deal between Bangladesh and Russia for a new nuclear power plant, which Siddiq is said to have helped Hasina broker. Siddiq has reportedly also lived in and owned real estate properties in London which were tied to her aunt’s political allies in Bangladesh, raising concerns over Siddiq’s potential financial ties to the Bangladeshi government. Siddiq has maintained her innocence and denied any wrongdoing in relation to these accusations.
Former Soviet Union
Russia: US and UK impose new sanctions on Russian oil producers and shadow fleet
On 10 January, the US and UK governments announced a new package of sanctions targeting Russian oil companies Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas. The US additionally sanctioned two Russian maritime insurance companies and 183 vessels in the so-called shadow fleet of “aging, anonymously-owned and questionably-insured vessels, purchased second-hand and flagged with low-enforcement registries” which are used to evade the oil price cap imposed by the G7. The oil price cap was introduced in 2022 to limit Russia's revenue from crude oil and oil products, whilst avoiding severe shocks to global oil prices. After the new round of sanctions was introduced, oil shipping rates increased, and 65 ships dropped anchor after ports refused to accept US-sanctioned ships.
Russia: US and EU companies paid USD 3.5 billion to Russia in tax in 2023
On 13 January, Ukrainian civil society organisation B4Ukraine reported that US and EU companies which remained active in Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 paid around USD 3.5 billion in tax on profits made in the country in 2023. Coming in the wake of European Central Bank pressure on EU banks to withdraw from Russia due to increased scrutiny and possible supplementary sanctions by US authorities, the report describes US companies as the largest foreign payers of tax on profits in Russia in 2023, paying USD 1.2 billion in total. EU companies reportedly paid EUR 3 billion in 2023, and 16 of the top contributors to Russian tax income were from the EU and G7 countries.
Russia: Hungary withdraws opposition to renewing EU sanctions against Russia
On 27 January, Hungary withdrew its opposition to the EU renewing sanctions on Russia, which include the continued freezing of EUR 190 billions of Russian assets. Hungary’s Russia-friendly prime minister Viktor Orbán had been opposed to this renewal throughout Hungary’s presidency of the EU (July-December 2024), citing the risk of economic damage to the EU and the cessation of Russian gas transit to Hungary through Ukraine. US president Donald Trump’s increased pressure on Russia and threat of further sanctions was a key factor in the reversal of Orbán’s position. Orbán had previously claimed that he would veto the sanctions renewal if there was a loosening of US sanctions against Russia.
Sub-saharan Africa
Rwanda: New financial crime legislation introduced
On 9 January, the Rwandan parliament passed legislation to improve the country’s anti-money laundering, countering terrorist financing, and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (AML/CFT/CPF) frameworks. The move follows a 2024 report by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) which found that Rwanda was exposed to AML/CFT/CPF risks and required a stronger awareness of financial crime vulnerabilities facing the country. The law includes a legislative amendment to strengthen Rwanda’s Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), the country’s financial investigative body, and to align the FIC with regional frameworks. It also includes the introduction of new legislation to address weaknesses in the criminalisation of AML/CFT/CPF offences in Rwanda, including criminalisation of financial crimes and the introduction of sanctions for failure to comply with AML/CFT/CPF obligations.
DRC: M23 rebel activity in the DRC and associated mineral supply chain risks
On 27 January, M23, a Congolese Tutsi-led rebel military group, reported to have captured the city of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Since April 2024, the rebels have initiated a renewed series of military offensives throughout the mineral-rich eastern DRC, and are widely reported, including by the United Nations, to have received financial and military support from Rwanda. Rwanda has repeatedly denied this claim. M23’s seizure of significant mineral reserves, and the key administrative centre of Goma, has significant implications for the global minerals trade. The rebels are accused of violating human rights and international humanitarian law, and have established shadow administrations and trade routes to exploit strategic mineral resources in the areas under their control. Some of these minerals have allegedly been fraudulently exported to Rwanda and mixed with minerals produced in Rwanda, which the United Nations has described as “the largest contamination of mineral supply chains in the Great Lakes region".
Americas
US: Treasury sanctions Chinese cyber company for supporting malicious computer intrusion incidents
On 3 January, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Beijing-based cybersecurity company Integrity Technology Group Inc for its role in multiple computer intrusion incidents against US persons. According to OFAC, these malicious operations – publicly attributed to the cyber group known as Flax Typhoon, active since 2021 – were perpetrated by hackers employed by Integrity Tech. OFAC alleged that Flax Typhoon utilized Integrity Tech’s infrastructure between 2022 and 2023 to conduct cyber intrusions, and sanctioned Integrity Tech for its complicity in activities posing a significant threat to US critical infrastructure.
Canada: Financial intelligence agency links online gambling platforms to laundering of fentanyl proceeds
On 23 January, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (Fintrac) published an operational alert linking online gambling platforms to the laundering of proceeds from fentanyl dealing and production. Fintrac issued the alert to assist law enforcement and financial institutions in identifying these illicit transactions. The agency analysed over 5,000 suspicious transaction reports filed between 2020 and 2023 related to fentanyl and synthetic opioids, finding that known fentanyl traffickers often sent money to digital gambling sites and received funds in return from payment processors in Canada, Malta, and the UK. Fintrac’s report also highlighted the growing role of cryptocurrencies in laundering proceeds from opioid and fentanyl sales.
