Spanish police announced on Tuesday that they have dismantled “one of the largest cocaine distribution networks” in Spain’s northern region of Castilla y León, arresting three people, including the group’s leader, and seizing 862kg of black cocaine disguised as coal.
The United States sanctioned three Bulgarian oligarchs and 64 related entities for their “extensive roles” in corruption, and for “abusing” public institutions for profit, the U.S. Department of Treasury said on Wednesday.
Narcotics concealed in fruit, veg and chocolate, and the dealer whose love of blue cheese betrayed him to the authorities -- a common theme of food and criminality in this week’s oddities section, from OCCRP’s Daily News team.
The European Commision on Tuesday launched a tax agency in charge of objectively informing policymakers and suggesting initiatives that could help better tackle possible tax abuse and promote fairer taxation in the EU and beyond.
Police in Nicaragua raided the home of President Daniel Ortega’s main challenger and placed her under house arrest on Wednesday, a day after prosecutors brought money laundering charges against her and requested that she be banned from running for or holding public office.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued five individuals for promoting an unregistered cryptocurrency exchange platform and helping it amass more than US$2 billion through a lending program authorities have flagged as a Ponzi scheme.
A court in Kyrgyzstan ordered on Wednesday former Prime Minister Omurbek Babanov to remain in detention for the next two months as part of an investigation into corrupt practices involving the country’s disputed Kumtor gold mine.
Western risk intelligence companies monitoring threatening activity on the internet claim that Hydra, a Russian language site hosted on the Dark Web, is responsible for facilitating some US$1.37 billion worth of drug deals.
A Pakistani TV channel suspended the host of a popular political talk show after he criticized the country’s powerful military for its role in censorship during last week’s protests that were prompted by the latest attack against journalists.
The European Union launched on Tuesday a unique supranational public prosecution office in charge of criminal investigations and prosecutions against the Union’s budget. The long-awaited move comes in time to watch over a nearly two billion euro financial package aimed at helping rebuild a post-COVID-19 Europe.