The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) uncovered on Monday a multi-year penny stock scheme that generated US$194 million in illicit proceeds, leading to charges against 15 individuals and one corporate consulting firm spanning three continents.

Kyrgyz authorities accused investigative journalist Bolot Temirov on Tuesday of forging documents and illegally crossing state borders after the news outlet he leads published a story about the son of a high-ranking official winning state contracts.

Croatian police arrested 10 people suspected of being part of a violent criminal network that brought cocaine from South America to Europe. Simultaneously, police in neighboring Serbia again arrested Serbian cocaine king Darko Šarić, who appears to have been cooperating with the group in Croatia.

Amnesty International called for the release of journalists, editors and other media professionals who have been arrested across Russia for their coverage of the invasion of Ukraine.

A Greek investigative journalist said on Monday that prosecutors will investigate who infected his phone with spyware that allowed hackers to see and hear everything he did.

Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich has hit headlines since Russia invaded Ukraine. Billions of his assets have been frozen by a court in Jersey. French authorities have seized a US$120 million mansion he owns on the Riviera coast. And the fate of his U.K. Premier League football club, Chelsea, has been front-page news around the world.

A global, multi-agency effort took down one of the world’s largest hacker forums and arrested several individuals, including the site’s administrator, Europol said in a press release.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev appointed the chairman of a bank owned by his family members as the new governor to the country’s Central Bank. Opposition leaders see the move as Aliyev’s complete takeover of the country’s banking system.

The U.K. government announced Thursday that it has frozen 10 billion pounds (US$13 billion) in assets held by two Russian oligarchs, both known to be longstanding business partners of Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich.

Authorities in Cyprus have revoked the passports of four sanctioned Russian nationals and their families who were awarded citizenship through the island’s now terminated citizenship-for-investment program, local media reported and government sources confirmed to OCCRP.