An information operations group charged the US more than US$120 million to produce pro-US TV and radio ads in Afghanistan and then never broadcasted any, claims a recently unsealed lawsuit.

Czech authorities have confiscated hundreds of thousands of masks and respirators that were supposed to be sold to the Czech Republic at more than double their market price, according to the online daily Aktuálně.

Ukrainian authorities are investigating an Ukranian lawmaker who posted videos that appear to be showing the brother of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff discussing bribes in return for appointments at various government positions, the Kyiv Post reported on Tuesday. 

The Hungarian parliament approved on Monday a law expanding the power of Prime Minister Viktor Orban and allowing him to take extraordinary measures on the grounds of combatting the coronavirus pandemic.

Authorities in Mexico have reportedly arrested a former public official accused of embezzling more than US$1 million from the country’s corruption-riddled state-owned oil company.

The United States Department of Justice issued injunctions on Friday barring two telecom carriers from facilitating robocalls that led to people paying millions to fraudsters for solving made-up legal predicaments. 

Facing a sharp decline in income due to the global absence of public sporting events like soccer, basketball or hockey, Russian gambling sites are now offering enthusiasts the opportunity to bet on coronavirus-related issues.

Investigators with the US Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission are probing possible COVID19-related insider trading among several high-profile US politicians, according to a report on Monday from CNN.

An online petition urging the US Department of Justice to shut down porn site PornHub for hosting videos of sex trafficking victims has reached on Monday nearly 600,000 signatures after the website made its premium content free during the COVID-19 lockdown.

As the coronavirus is keeping the world locked down, some governments are using the pandemic as an excuse to crack down on press freedom and access to information.