Enforcement

US Unseals Charges Against Iranian Oil Trafficking Network

05/02/2024

Nine individuals were charged over the illicit sale of Iranian oil to government-linked buyers in Russia, Syria and China.

Enforcement

PBOC Fines Six Rating Agencies, Including Unit of S&P Global

05/02/2024

The agencies were found to have shortcomings in their rating business processes, violating independence requirements and breaching consistency principles.

Enforcement

HK, SG Take Down 139 Servers in INTERPOL Cybercrime Operation

05/02/2024

Operation Synergia, launched in response to the growing threat of transnational cybercrime, involved more than 50 participating countries.

AML / KYC

Multinational Firm Scammed by Deepfake Tech in Hong Kong

05/02/2024

A finance worker was duped in a video call by a deepfake version of his company’s CFO to transfer HKD 200 million.

Sanctions

OFAC Sanctions Four HK Entities for Supporting Iran

05/02/2024

Three of the Hong Kong companies operated as “covert procurement entities” for Iran’s weapons programmes. The fourth sold Iranian commodities to benefit Iran.

Sanctions

Oil Price Cap Coalition Issues Alert on Evasion Methods

04/02/2024

The alert includes an overview of key oil price cap evasion methods as well as recommendations for identifying them.

Crypto / Digital Assets

Crypto lender Genesis Agrees to $21m Settlement with US SEC

04/02/2024

Genesis will only have to pay the fine if it can fully repay customers and other claims in its bankruptcy, including general unsecured claims.

Sanctions

Taiwan Tightens Controls on Machine Tool Exports to Russia

04/02/2024

The penalty for first-time illegal exports to Russia has been increased and Russian company “I Machine Technology” was added to Taiwan’s entity list.

AML / KYC

Former Malaysian PM Receives Partial Royal Pardon

04/02/2024

Najib Razak was sentenced to jail and fined in 2020 over 1MDB-related corruption. His jail sentence was cut in half and his fine was reduced.