A court in Melbourne sentenced on Thursday a 49-year-old woman who described herself as the “queen” of a criminal drug smuggling syndicate to 18 years in jail with a 13 years-long non-parole period, according to Australian Federal Police (AFP).

As governments around the globe face budgetary pressures due to the COVID-19 public health crisis, the urgency to crack down on tax havens – responsible for an estimated loss of over US$ 427 billion each year – has become even more crucial, experts said in response to new findings. 

Apple agreed to pay US$113 million on Wednesday to settle consumer fraud allegations known as ‘batterygate’ in which 33 U.S. states accused the company of having deliberately slowed down its older mobile devices so that consumers would purchase newer models. 

The U.S. has dropped drug trafficking and money laundering charges against retired General Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda who served as Mexico’s defense secretary between 2012 and 2018 and was arrested in Los Angeles last month, according to a statement from the Department of Justice.

A third officer has been charged amidst a sex-scandal in Louisville, Kentucky, wherein police conspired to delete hundreds of thousands of records related to officers in their force who allegedly sexually abused minors while in charge of a youth program. 

As the world is eagerly awaiting a vaccine to stop the spread of the coronavirus, some international agencies warn of its possible weaponization and misuse and predict that criminal networks will target storage facilities and distribution networks as soon as vaccines move closer to delivery.

Police in Europe cracked down on the illegal arms trade across the continent in two separate operations that saw 18 arrests, dozens of objects raided, nearly 200 firearms and millions in assets seized across the continent.  

The husband of a whistleblower who provided evidence of alleged corruption to slain Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was released on Tuesday, one day after police arrested him following a request from Cyprus' authorities. 

Switzerland intends to adopt a law that will no longer allow bribes to private individuals or expenses that enable criminal activity to be tax deductible, the federal government announced in a press release.

A former business partner says that Swiss tobacco giant Philip Morris International facilitated the theft of his intellectual property, a critical methodology used to measure worldwide flows of contraband cigarettes.