Claims that a convicted New Zealand drug trafficker bribed his way out of being deported have been referred to a federal anti-corruption agency, Secretary Michael Pezzulo of Australia’s Home Affairs department told a Senate Estimates hearing on Friday.

Six years after a Global Witness investigation revealed the illegal logging and massive land grabs behind Southeast Asia’s rubber industry, car companies and tire manufacturers around the world came together to take action on the environmental and human rights abuses involved in their business.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa this week signed a proclamation that officially establishes a new investigating council to examine high-profile cases such as the country’s ongoing state capture inquiry.

Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev stepped down on Tuesday after almost 30 years but will not give up power entirely. He ruled the country since its independence after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

As a successful businessman and a generous donor, Aivars Bergers was a welcome addition to the board of Latvia’s Harmony party almost a decade ago.

The United States imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s state-run gold mining company on Tuesday, accusing it of illicitly propping up the government of President Maduro.

The United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) arrested on Monday woman who is thought to have supplied Albanian organized crime syndicates with some 500 UK passports. 

Honduran journalist Leonardo Gabriel Hernández died on Sunday after being shot several times by an unidentified person while on his way home, according to the Committee for Free Expression (C-Libre).

Animal conservationists have warned that only 10 vaquitas are left in the world and have urged Mexico to eradicate illegal fishing in the northern Gulf of California, the animal’s sole habitat.

An Armenian court has concluded that there is insufficient evidence that Robert Kocharyan, former President of Armenia, committed corruption, Kocharyan’s lawyer told OCCRP on Monday. However, the ex-president will remain in custody because of a second indictment.