NEWS: Bulgarian PM lifts lid on Russian meddling in explosive interview; says corruption is ‘Moscow’s best foreign policy instrument’ in the Balkans

Regulatory Watch News

• 

  Treasury Targets Syrian Conglomerate Funding Qods Force and Houthis

  OFAC

  November 14, 2024

  WASHINGTON — Today, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 26 companies, individuals, and vessels associated with the Al-Qatirji Company, a Syrian conglomerate responsible for generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) and the Houthis through the sale of Iranian oil to Syria and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Previously designated for its role in facilitating the sale of fuel between the Syrian regime and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the Al-Qatirji Company has morphed into one of the main channels through which the IRGC-QF generates revenue and funds its regional proxy groups. OFAC is expanding its targeting of Al-Qatirji’s network and its fleet of vessels to inhibit the IRGC-QF from benefiting from this relationship.

• 

  nternational Day against Transnational Organized Crime – 15 November

  UNODC

  November 14, 2024

  On 15 November 2024, the world marks the first International Day for the Prevention of and Fight against All Forms of Transnational Organized Crime (TOC), established by General Assembly resolution 78/267. This day highlights the urgent need for global solidarity to counter the rising threat of organized crime, which undermines peace, security and progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Criminal networks are exploiting global vulnerabilities on a vast scale—from human trafficking to environmental destruction and cybercrime. Organized crime operates across borders, posing serious challenges that no country can tackle alone.

• 

  Investigation ‘Moby Dick’: Mafia clans invest in €520 million VAT fraud

  European Public Prosecutor's Office

  November 14, 2024

    (Luxembourg, 14 November 2024) – In an investigation led by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Milan and Palermo (Italy), code-named 'Moby Dick', detention orders are being executed against 43 suspects. The EPPO is probing a €520 million VAT fraud, with heavy involvement of several mafia groups.  During today’s action, led by the EPPO, 160 searches are being carried out in more than 10 countries, involving hundreds of police officers. Investigative measures are ongoing in several EU countries, including Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Spain, as well as in non-EU countries. A total of 195 individuals are being investigated, with more than 400 companies involved.