Episode 281

14th September – 17th September 2026

Sanctions

US Sanctions Russian Financial Institution VTB Bank Under Operation Economic Outcast

The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the US Department of State have announced sanctions against VTB Bank Public Joint Stock Company, one of Russia's largest financial institutions, under Operation Economic Outcast. Designated pursuant to Executive Order 13902 for operating in the financial sector of Iran's economy, VTB Bank was cited for opening bank offices in Tehran, establishing correspondent banking relationships with sanctioned Iranian entities, and facilitating the transfer of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets. US officials warned that foreign financial institutions continuing to engage with VTB Bank risk severe secondary sanctions, including potential cutoff from the US financial system. The State Department press release is here, and the OFAC announcement, here.

OFSI Clarifies Asset Freeze Exceptions for Interest and Earnings Credited to Sanctioned Accounts

The UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has updated its UK Financial Sanctions FAQs by publishing FAQ 203, which clarifies the scope of asset freeze exceptions under regulation 58(3) of The Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 and equivalent counter-terrorism regimes. Under the guidance, relevant financial institutions are permitted to credit interest or other earnings only to the exact frozen account on which those earnings accrue. OFSI specified that crediting accrued earnings to a separate frozen account held for the same designated person is not permitted, even if identified in pre-existing contractual arrangements, and advised institutions to determine whether a licence is required before transferring funds between accounts.

Money Laundering

UK Government Launches £500 Million Anti-Money Laundering Strategy to Recruit 500 Specialist Officers

The UK government has announced a new Anti-Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Strategy backed by £500 million in investment over three years derived from the economic crime levy. Under the crackdown, 500 new investigators will be deployed across local police forces, the National Crime Agency (NCA), and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to track illicit finance, disrupt international money laundering networks, and target organised crime bosses. The initiative comes alongside official performance figures indicating that UK law enforcement stripped nearly £350 million from criminals and blocked over £1 billion in dirty money over the preceding year.

Former Venezuelan Minister Alex Saab Pleads Guilty to US Money Laundering Charges Over Public Food and Medicine Bribes

Alex Nain Saab Moran, the former Minister of Industry under former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, has pleaded guilty in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida to conspiracy to commit money laundering. According to court documents, Saab admitted to organising a decade-long scheme involving bribes paid to Venezuelan public officials to secure lucrative government contracts for importing food and medicine under the public welfare programme Comité Local de Abastecimiento y Producción (CLAP). Prosecutors detailed that conspirators skimmed hundreds of millions of dollars through shell companies, false invoices, and fraudulent shipping records, laundering the proceeds worldwide and through US financial institutions. Saab, who was re-indicted under a new criminal case in January 2026 after receiving US presidential clemency in December 2023, faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison upon sentencing.

Bribery and Corruption

Ukraine and Council of Europe Review First Year of National Lobbying Reforms

On 1st September 2026, Ukraine's National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) and the Council of Europe co-hosted a conference in Kyiv titled “Lobbying in Ukraine: Initial Results and Prospects” to mark the first anniversary of the nation's lobbying legislation. The event brought together 35 representatives from public authorities, practising lobbyists, and civil society to evaluate early implementation results and establish a shared framework for future legislative enhancements aligned with European standards. High-level participants, including Ukrainian Minister of Justice Denys Maslov, NACP Head Viktor Pavlushchyk, and Council of Europe Director Hanne Juncher, emphasised that transparent, accountable decision-making is vital for strengthening public trust and integrating legitimate lobbying into democratic governance. Organised within the framework of the Anti-Corruption Transformation in Ukraine project, the session also included international expert reviews of OECD recommendations, European regulatory approaches, and mechanisms designed to prevent undue influence.

Fraud

Portland Resident Convicted of Stealing Nearly $500,000 in Pandemic Relief Funds for Personal Tax Debt and Cryptocurrency

A federal jury in Portland, Oregon, has found Beniamin Lucescu guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering in connection with a scheme to steal nearly $500,000 in COVID-19 relief funds. According to evidence presented at trial by the US Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon, between April 2020 and May 2022, Lucescu repeatedly lied on Small Business Administration (SBA) applications by claiming the funds would cover economic losses for his business, Rose City Senior Care, but instead diverted almost all of the money to pay personal federal tax debts and invest in cryptocurrency. Following an investigation conducted by the SBA Office of Inspector General with assistance from the FBI, Lucescu is scheduled to be sentenced on 14th December 2026, while his co-defendant wife, Georgeta Lucescu, is scheduled to stand trial on 8th February 2027.

US Federal and State Authorities Advance Major Fraud Enforcement Actions Across Healthcare, Pandemic Relief, and Transnational Cyber Scams

In a series of major law enforcement actions, US federal and state authorities executed targeted enforcement against diverse financial crime and fraud schemes. Healthcare corporation Abbott Laboratories has agreed to pay more than $384 million nationwide to settle civil False Claims Act allegations that it defrauded government health programmes by selling infant formula manufactured under unsanitary conditions at facilities in Michigan and Arizona. In healthcare fraud sentencing, Tennessee optometric physician Helen Boerman was ordered to serve 42 months in federal prison and pay nearly $7 million in restitution for submitting approximately $11 million in false claims to Medicare, TennCare, and federal employee benefit programmes. Addressing pandemic relief fraud, a federal jury in Oregon has convicted Beniamin Lucescu of wire fraud and money laundering for stealing nearly $500,000 in COVID-19 relief funds to cover personal tax debts and buy cryptocurrency, while Washington DC resident Brittany Blalock received 48 months' probation and a $41,666 restitution order for a PPP loan fraud scheme uncovered during a wholesale fentanyl trafficking investigation. Finally, five leaders of the transnational criminal group "Black Axe" were extradited from South Africa to New Jersey to face federal charges for operating a decade-long internet romance fraud and money laundering enterprise.

Market Abuse

City Lawyer Pleads Not Guilty to FCA Insider Dealing Charges Over Seraphine Group Buyout

City lawyer, Richard Bloomfield, has pleaded not guilty at Southwark Crown Court to five counts of insider dealing brought by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA alleges that Bloomfield used confidential inside information obtained while advising on the proposed acquisition of London-listed maternity fashion brand Seraphine Group to buy and sell shares on five separate occasions between March 2022 and January 2023. Authorities confirmed that neither Seraphine nor the law firm involved are subject to investigation.

Hedge Fund Founder Charged in SDNY for Allegedly Misrepresenting Fund Performance to Investors

The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has unsealed a criminal complaint charging Vuk Vukovic, the founder of hedge fund Oraclum Capital LLC and CEO of the Orca Bason Fund, with one count of securities fraud and one count of wire fraud. According to federal prosecutors, the fund purported to select investments using a network analysis of social media bubbles and the "wisdom of crowds" to forecast market movements. However, since at least 2024, Vukovic allegedly executed a deceptive scheme to obtain investor funds by issuing false monthly statements to current investors and transmitting falsified brokerage records displaying inflated net asset values and performance figures to prospective investors. The charges, stemming from a joint investigation by the FBI and the US Postal Inspection Service, each charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Indiana Couple Pleads Guilty to Federal Insider Trading Scheme Involving $3.7 Billion Corporate Acquisition

Fan Yang and her husband, Jing Tian, have pleaded guilty in US District Court for the District of Columbia to conspiracy to commit securities fraud. According to court documents, Yang exploited her position as a corporate development manager and finance controller at an Indiana manufacturer to access material non-public information regarding confidential negotiations to acquire a Michigan automobile component manufacturer for $3.7 billion. Yang tipped the insider details to Tian and third parties across multiple states and overseas, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal profits prior to the public deal announcement in February 2022. Both defendants agreed to forfeit all traceable profits from the scheme and face a maximum penalty of five years in prison when sentenced on 15th January 2027.

Other Financial Crime

UK Court Extends £10 Million Premier League Account Freezing Order Linked to Sorare Gambling Prosecution

On 11th September 2026, Westminster Magistrates’ Court granted an application by the UK National Crime Agency (NCA) to extend an Account Freezing Order (AFO) on £10 million held in a Barclays Bank account belonging to The Football Association Premier League Limited. The frozen funds represent royalty payments received by the Premier League from French digital collectible firm Sorare SAS under an official fantasy football non-fungible token (NFT) licensing agreement signed in November 2022. The NCA sought the four-month extension, which would maintain the order to the statutory two-year maximum, to investigate whether the proceeds derive from unlicensed gambling, following criminal charges brought against Sorare by the UK Gambling Commission under the Gambling Act 2005. District Judge Sam Goozée rejected the Premier League’s opposition under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 which claimed the funds were received in good faith without notice, and ruled that reasonable grounds for suspicion persist given the ongoing regulatory prosecution, the Premier League's ring-fencing of incoming fees, and its filing of a Defence Against Money Laundering suspicious activity report.

FCA Bans Former Law Firm Manager Nurul Miah from Financial Services Over £28 Million Client Money Misappropriation

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has prohibited Nurul Miah (also known as Neil Mia and Neil Miah) from working in financial services after determining that he lacked the requisite honesty and integrity. The regulatory prohibition follows findings by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) that Miah, a former non-legal manager at Kingly Solicitors Limited, dishonestly caused or allowed more than £28 million in client funds to be improperly withdrawn without permission between April 2019 and July 2020, with over £10 million missing and diverted for his personal benefit. Miah, who was previously approved by the FCA in 2016 to hold senior management positions at an unconnected firm, Oracle Consultants Ltd, was banned to safeguard consumers and maintain confidence in the financial system.