The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has opened an investigation into Swedish multinational Ericsson’s business practices in Romania. The investigation is related to allegations made by a former Ericsson employee that the company used an approved slush-fund to pay off Romanian officials and decision makers to win contracts. OCCRP published an in-depth story revealing the controversy in March 2013.

Russian interior ministry officers busted an underground sweatshop where more than 100 Chinese citizens produced counterfeit Chanel shoes in deplorable conditions.

Over 280,000 complaints of online criminal activity were reported by the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in 2012, with a total calculated financial loss due to online criminal activity estimated to be more than $520 million.

Elvis Kelmendi, son of alleged drug kingpin Naser Kelmendi, was sentenced to four years in prison for the attempted murder of Elvis Hodzic in 2010. The prosecution has appealed the sentence, claiming that the court showed too much leniency due to Elvis Kelmendi’s confession, and that the crime deserved a harsher sentence.

Macedonian police dismantled an organized crime ring responsible for the theft and smuggling of over 150 religious and historical artifacts.

The Special Court in Belgrade filed an indictment against Miroslav Miskovic, the wealthy Serbian tycoon. Miskovic was arrested along with 10 others on December 12, 2012. The group is suspected of pocketing more than $39 million during Serbia’s privatization of highway companies in 2005.

The Hungarian Parliament adopted a controversial amendment to its Freedom of Information Act on April 30, a move that will make civilian and journalistic access to information more difficult.

Hackers stole $45 million in a matter of hours by exploiting the weaknesses of bank databases during a heist carried out across at least 27 countries.

Alleged crime boss Nasser Kelmendi will be kept in custody for one month, a European Union Rule of Law Mission judge ruled on Thursday. Kelmendi is wanted for questioning in Bosnia and Herzegovina for crimes including drug smuggling and murder.

The trial of Beate Zschäpe, accused of complicity in nine racially motivated murders between 2000 and 2007, began on Monday, the LA Times reported. Eight of the victims were of Turkish descent and one of Greek descent.

Zschäpe is also linked to the murder of a German policewoman, and played a role in at least 15 robberies. The defendant is accused of supporting two bombings in 2001 and 2004, respectively, which were meant to kill as many people of non-German origins as possible, according to prosecutors. Twenty-three were wounded in the bombings, the New York Times reported.

Zschäpe was allegedly a member of a three-person far right-wing cell called the Nationalist Socialist Underground (NSU). The two other alleged members committed suicide in 2011 after a botched robbery, the LA Times reported.

The investigation has been beset by controversy, as investigators claimed for years the murders were connected to organized crime. Victims’ families were told their relatives might have been involved in the drug trade, the LA Times reported. It was not until 2011, after the suicide of Zschäpe’s alleged co-conspirators, that police came across evidence that shift the focus to right-wing extremist groups, the New York Times reported. Among the evidence: photos of the victims shortly after their murder.

Critics of Germany’s investigative services claim the errors displayed by the case go beyond simple incompetence. In July 2012, the director of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency resigned after it was revealed that a staff member had shredded potentially valuable evidence from informants on the NSU’s activities. Families of the victims have accused officials of downplaying the risk of right-wing extremism and demonstrating racism in the course of their investigation.

A parliamentary committee established in January has been charged with the investigation of wrongdoing by law enforcement. As of yet, no evidence has emerged to demonstrate law enforcement complicity in any of the crimes. A final report from the committee is expected this summer, according to the New York Times.