Western countries joined forces on Wednesday to track down the assets of the political and financial puppet masters in Moscow and seize or freeze their properties as part of ongoing efforts to help Ukraine fight the invasion.

Lithuania froze on Wednesday the bank accounts of a company linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, effectively blocking the firm’s 2.9 million euros (US$3.19 million). The move came after OCCRP’s Lithuanian partner Siena revealed UAB PhosAgro Baltic’s links to the Kremlin.

The United States dished out another wave of sanctions against Russians deemed to be facilitators of the regime in Moscow, in an effort to disrupt Russia’s ongoing military campaign against Ukraine, the U.S. Department of the Treasury reported on Friday.

INTERPOL said that it has launched a Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Center (IFCACC) in order to fight the exponential growth in sophisticated transnational financial crime.

A Cuban man who turned his Texas farm near the border to Mexico into a drug and human trafficking hub was sentenced to more than 38 years in prison, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced.

In the latest crackdown on violent organized crime groups, Mexican security forces arrested the leaders of two drug cartels, prompting members of their gangs to block roads and shoot at government buildings in retaliation.

Japan’s state-backed tobacco company announced on Thursday that it would suspend planned investments in Russia, but failed to promise to shut down factories despite criticism that continuing operations would pump cash into a government that has come under heavy sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine.

One of the most wanted fugitives in Europe may be on his way home to Italy soon after Brazil’s Supreme Court Tuesday approved the extradition of the drug lord Rocco Morabito.

Four U.S. senators introduced a bill Tuesday to stop Russia from using its US$130 billion in gold reserves to stave off economic disaster stemming from its invasion of Ukraine.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents have seized four palm oil shipments in Baltimore, Maryland, according to a recent press release. The shipments, which originated in Malaysia,  were produced by forced labor, the CBP says.