A Dutch former gambling executive working on the island of Malta pleaded innocent to seven charges including money laundering and fraud in connection with a plot to scam his employer.

Opposition parties in Republika Srpska (RS) have lodged a criminal complaint against the RS prime minister and finance minister over a controversial loan the government took, allegedly without National Assembly approval.

Next month, Albanian members of Parliament (MPs) will vote on a proposed law to exclude people with criminal convictions from holding public office, according to the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN).

Brazilian blogger Orislandio Timoteo Araújo was shot to death Sunday in Buriticupu, the  the second journalist to be killed in the province of Maranhão this month.

VimpelCom Ltd. is in talks with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to pay a near-record US$ 775 million to settle bribery allegations, according to Bloomberg. Three unnamed sources cited by Bloomberg said the Amsterdam-based telecom giant allegedly paid bribes in Uzbekistan.

In the latest fallout from last month’s fatal Colectiv Club fire in Bucharest, three top safety officials have been suspended from the board of the Bucharest Emergency Situations Inspectorate (ISU) for apparently lying about the tragedy.

A court in the Croatian capital of Zagreb has released former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, accused in multiple large-scale financial crime cases, from custody.

The Baku Court of Appeal Wednesday denied an appeal filed by attorneys for imprisoned investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova, an OCCRP partner.

One of the most serious corruption scandals in the Czech Republic’s recent history has seen four senior public officials charged and many more under suspicion as part of Operation Vidkun, an investigation targeting top-tier law enforcement personnel.

Leaked recordings that appear to feature two senior Bulgarian magistrates have once again drawn attention to the country’s judiciary, lack of separation of powers, and questionable adherence to rule of law.