A memo from top financial Canadian intelligence officials echos a concern some crypto experts have voiced with urgency: An industry of services converting crypto into large sums of cash has opened a gaping hole in the global bulwark against dirty money.

Canadian intelligence flags crypto-to-cash services as ‘knowingly facilitating money laundering,’ document shows - ICIJ

An internal report obtained says that crypto brokers are moving millions while dodging rules to guard against dirty money.

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The UN paid roughly $10 million last year to companies formerly linked to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government, continuing business relationships after the regime's fall

Companies once tied to Assad kept winning UN contracts under Syria’s new rulers - ICIJ

An ICIJ analysis found that at least 11 firms received roughly $10 million in 2025 after opaque deals and seizures reshaped their ownership.

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Italian prosecutors found drug trafficker Giacomo Tamburello earned millions primarily through the illicit trade of Moroccan hashish. He shared 10% of the revenues with Matteo Messina Denaro, a mafia boss until his capture and death in 2023, prosecutors say.

How offshore firms helped a mafia-linked Italian druglord hide a $230m fortune - ICIJ

Leaked Pandora Papers records reveal that Giacomo Tamburello and his family, now facing prosecution, accumulated gold bars, luxury real estate and a $89 million stake in a bank with the help of…

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Seven years since New York’s state financial regulator launched a probe into Swedbank’s anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing controls, and its disclosures to regulators between 2007 and 2019, the two parties have reached a settlement.

Swedbank fined $50 million by New York authorities over Panama Papers revelations - ICIJ

The Swedish bank and its New York subsidiary agreed to the penalty to settle final U.S. probe tied to money laundering case, officials say.

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Romance scams reached record-high losses in 2025, with Federal Trade Commission data showing over 70,000 reports and a staggering $1.47B lost in the U.S. — generating more losses than any other type of scam. Read ICIJ's recent reporting on romance scams:

Inside the Matrix: How models, influencers and engagement quotas power the Social Discovery Group’s dating machine and global profits - ICIJ

Women on four continents told ICIJ that global pay-per-action dating sites owned by a Russian businessman and self-styled philosopher left them financially broke and heartbroken.

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The World Bank's microlending programs have come under heavy criticism over concerns that the loans can trap borrowers in crippling debt. In 2019, Cambodia had the most microfinance debt per capita of any country in the world, according to @hrw.org.

International Finance Corporation watchdog in turmoil following scathing report on microfinance in Cambodia - ICIJ

The head of an internal auditor resigned after the board of the World Bank’s private investment arm rejected her office’s findings that the deal violated internal safeguard policies.

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Cryptocurrency exchange HTX is making moves that could soften the blow of new sanctions on the firm, experts tell ICIJ.

Europe sanctioned crypto exchange HTX. Experts say the firm is deploying tactics that could blunt the impact. - ICIJ

The exchange is rapidly generating new accounts in a way that can confuse authorities and compliance officials, experts told ICIJ.

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Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co.’s Austrian subsidiary is challenging #CancerCalculus journalists’ efforts to obtain pricing data in a case likely to test the limits of the country’s freedom of information law, which was enacted in Sept. 2025.

Merck takes Austria’s Keytruda price transparency battle to top court as journalists fight for information - ICIJ

The case stems from ICIJ’s Cancer Calculus investigation into the world's best-selling drug’s sky-high price and its global consequences.

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From @timesofmalta.bsky.social: Women worldwide were lured into costly online relationships via dating websites operated by two Maltese companies, an ICIJ investigation found. Russian national Dmitry Volkov founded the companies and controls over 60 dating brands.

Malta-based online dating empire under scrutiny over romance scams

Maria spent two years paying for every message she sent Dan. But the online romance wasn't what it seemed

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Merck, the subject of ICIJ’s #CancerCalculus investigation, received a letter from @hassan.senate.gov of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care asking it to defend it’s use of secondary patents for Keytruda.

Senator questions Merck over patent strategy for blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda - ICIJ

In a letter, Sen. Maggie Hassan cited ICIJ's Cancer Calculus investigation and expressed concerns that the pharma giant is boosting profits at the expense of patients.

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From @financialtimes.com: The president of Kazakhstan urged Vladimir Putin to “freeze” the war in Ukraine in the latest sign that the Russian president is under growing pressure as Ukrainian attacks reach targets deep inside Russia.

A substantial portion of crypto-to-cash services in Canada are being “exploited for illicit purposes” and “knowingly facilitating money laundering, sanctions evasion” and “transnational organized crime,” according to a Canadian intelligence memo.

Canadian intelligence flags crypto-to-cash services as ‘knowingly facilitating money laundering,’ document shows - ICIJ

An internal report obtained says that crypto brokers are moving millions while dodging rules to guard against dirty money.

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From @theguardian.com: Private equity investment firm TPG will take control of the U.K.'s National Health Service patient records in a deal experts say should “ring alarm bells” amid concerns sensitive health data increasingly being handed to private companies. bit.ly/4z2zLxR

Alarm at NHS patient records being put under control of US private equity firm

Doctors and MPs urge more scrutiny of £300m deal for company behind system used by most GPs in England

theguardian.com

Circle pitches its USDC token as the new face of finance. But some officials have begun to raise alarms about instances of the crypto giant denying law enforcement requests to freeze assets and allegedly refusing to help recover scam victim funds.

Crypto giant Circle rebuffed efforts to help scam victims, police say - ICIJ

Law enforcement in Wisconsin and New York accuse the firm of refusing to help recoup funds, even under court orders.

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For over 30 years, the ex-wife and son of Italian drug trafficker Giacomo Tamburello relied on an international network of bankers, lawyers and brokers to amass a $230M fortune and shield it from authorities, according to Italian prosecutors.

How offshore firms helped a mafia-linked Italian druglord hide a $230m fortune - ICIJ

Leaked Pandora Papers records reveal that Giacomo Tamburello and his family, now facing prosecution, accumulated gold bars, luxury real estate and a $89 million stake in a bank with the help of…

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From @financialtimes.com: Kazakhstan has stopped sending oil through a pipeline to a key Russian export terminal on the Black Sea following Ukrainian attacks on tankers planning to load there. The shutdown could remove another one million barrels a day from the market.

Three years after the #PanamaPapers, journalists revealed that Swedbank may have withheld information from U.S. authorities over suspicious financial transactions. The bank has now agreed to a penalty to settle the final U.S. probe tied to the case.

Swedbank fined $50 million by New York authorities over Panama Papers revelations - ICIJ

The Swedish bank and its New York subsidiary agreed to the penalty to settle final U.S. probe tied to money laundering case, officials say.

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Women on four continents told ICIJ how they were lured and left broken both financially and romantically by pay-per-action dating sites owned by a Russian businessman. Read the story:

Inside the Matrix: How models, influencers and engagement quotas power the Social Discovery Group’s dating machine and global profits - ICIJ

Women on four continents told ICIJ that global pay-per-action dating sites owned by a Russian businessman and self-styled philosopher left them financially broke and heartbroken.

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From The Caymanian Journal: Authorities in the Cayman Islands were named among several jurisdictions caught up in an Italian crackdown on Mafia-linked wealth, after over $200M in assets tied to mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro and related networks were seized.

Cayman Islands Named in Italian Seizure of €200m Linked to Mafia Boss

The criminals were known. The unanswered question: who helped the money endure in Cayman?

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The head of an internal auditor resigned after the board of the International Finance Corporation, the World Bank’s private investment arm, rejected her office’s findings that a microfinance deal Cambodia violated internal safeguard policies.

International Finance Corporation watchdog in turmoil following scathing report on microfinance in Cambodia - ICIJ

The head of an internal auditor resigned after the board of the World Bank’s private investment arm rejected her office’s findings that the deal violated internal safeguard policies.

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From CBC: A Canadian businessman from the #PanamaPapers leak is wanted on a Canada-wide arrest warrant after he failed to show up for court multiple times on tax-evasion charges on more than $860,000 in tax on oil deal consulting fees. www.cbc.ca/news/busines...

Arrest warrant issued for man accused in Panama Papers case after he fails to show up for court | CBC News

A businessman who quietly teed up hundreds of millions of dollars in oilpatch deals is wanted on a Canada-wide warrant after he failed to appear in court on tax-evasion charges stemming from the Panam...

cbc.ca

As scammers and terrorists increasingly turn to crypto, a Canadian intelligence office is raising alarms about risks posed by an emerging industry offering discreet means to convert cryptocurrency to large sums of cash and vice versa.

Canadian intelligence flags crypto-to-cash services as ‘knowingly facilitating money laundering,’ document shows - ICIJ

An internal report obtained says that crypto brokers are moving millions while dodging rules to guard against dirty money.

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From BBC: Controversial influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan have been arrested in Miami after British authorities issued 38 new charges against the pair. Prosecutors will seek to extradite them to the U.K for alleged sexual offenses.

Tate brothers arrested in US as further UK charges take total to 59

The Crown Prosecution Service says it has requested their extradition from the US, while their lawyer says they are innocent.

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Last year, President Donald Trump signed confidential deals with dozens of pharmaceutical companies, including Merck, to lower the price of some prescription drugs. But a recent Senate report found that high-cost medications have only become more expensive.

Lowering doses of cancer drugs could slash global health spending by $30B, new research shows - ICIJ

Researchers found that Keytruda — the focus of ICIJ's recent Cancer Calculus investigation — accounted for nearly half of the potential annual savings.

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How do you follow money that is designed to be untraceable? Our new Reporter's Guide to Investigating Cryptocurrency, produced with @icij.org, breaks down how to trace wallet addresses, work with blockchain explorers and verify crypto transactions for your next investigation. https://twp.ai/E5DK3S

NEW: Leaked records reveal mafia-linked Tamburello family acquired gold bars, luxury real estate & a $89M stake in a bank — part of a hidden $230M fortune — aided by unscrupulous financiers & lawyers, Italian prosecutors say. #PandoraPapers www.icij.org/investigatio... @icij.org

How offshore firms helped a mafia-linked Italian druglord hide a $230m fortune - ICIJ

Leaked Pandora Papers records reveal that Giacomo Tamburello and his family, now facing prosecution, accumulated gold bars, luxury real estate and a $89 million stake in a bank with the help of unscru...

icij.org

NEW: Nordic banking giant Swedbank agrees to pay $50M to settle New York probe stemming from #PanamaPapers revelations 10 years ago. State financial regulators say the bank misled investigators looking into its ties to Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. www.icij.org/investigatio... @icij.org

Swedbank fined $50 million by New York authorities over Panama Papers revelations - ICIJ

The Swedish bank and its New York subsidiary agreed to the penalty to settle final U.S. probe tied to money laundering case, officials say.

icij.org

The Clarity Act seeks to bring cryptocurrency under a single legal framework on the national level. But critics argue it contains dangerous loopholes and prioritizes studies instead of holding all crypto services to stringent anti-money laundering standards.

Law enforcement, banks warn of money laundering gaps in major US crypto bill - ICIJ

The crypto industry and law enforcement groups are in the midst of a lobbying showdown over the proposed Clarity Act.

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Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder in 2017 provoked outrage from journalists, civil society groups and governments around the world. Now, the alleged architect of the killing stands trial. Read the story:

Businessman accused of masterminding Caruana Galizia assassination stands trial in Malta - ICIJ

Yorgen Fenech appeared in court nearly a decade after the car-bomb killing of one of the country’s most prominent investigative journalists.

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