During the third week of May, several developments on accountability for atrocities in the Russo-Ukraine war converged.  On May 17, 2022, International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan QC announced he was sending a team of 42 investigators, forensic experts, and support personnel to Ukraine to continue the ICC investigations into crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC and furnish support to Ukrainian national authorities.  On May 18, during the first war crimes trial in Ukraine Russian Sgt. Vadim Shidhimarin pleaded guilty to killing an unarmed 62-year-old civilian in the Sumy region of Ukraine.  On May 19, 2022, a quintet of Attorneys General issued a statement of support for the Prosecutor General of Ukraine and investigations and prosecutions for Russian war crimes.

On May 17, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Allianz Global Investors U.S. (AGI) will plead guilty to securities fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud investors, many of which were pension funds.  Simultaneously, the DOJ unsealed the guilty pleas of Trevor Taylor and Stephen Bond-Nelson in connection with their respective roles in the scheme.  In addition, an indictment was unsealed in the Southern District of New York, charging Gregoire Tournant, the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) and co-lead Portfolio Manager for a series of private investment funds managed by AGI.

On May 5, 2022, the Colombian government extradited Dairo Antonio Úsuga David, better known by his alias “Otoniel”, to the United States to face charges in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York of leading a continuing criminal enterprise and participating in an international cocaine manufacturing and distribution conspiracy for his role as the leader of the paramilitary, multibillion dollar drug organization known as the “Clan del Golfo” (CDG).[1]

The INTERPOL-coordinated Operation Storm Makers, targeting migrant smuggling and human trafficking, triggered 121 arrests and prompted 193 new investigations.  During March 21-25, 2022, authorities across 25 countries carried out enforcement actions against organized crime groups suspected of profiting from the movement of men, women, and children across borders.  The Operation also succeeded in rescuing 80 human trafficking victims and identifying 3,400 irregular migrants.

On May 17, 2022, the United States Department of Justice filed a civil enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, in order to force Stephen A. Wynn, the former CEO of Wynn Resorts, to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) as agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and a senior official of the PRC’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS).  The DOJ allegedly advised Wynn on three occasions to register as an agent, but he declined to do so.

On May 10, 2022, Joly Germine, aka Yonyon, leader of the Haitian 400 Mawozo gang, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia for conspiracy to commit kidnapping.  The conspiracy relates to the armed kidnapping and ransoming of 1 Canadian and 16 American missionaries near Port au Prince by 400 Mawozo on October 16, 2021. 

The Council of Europe (COE) continues its involvement in the Russian aggression against Ukraine.[1]  Recently, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has adopted two sets of resolutions and recommendations. Each of them is accompanied by and based on a committee report  addressing various aspects of the invasion. The resolutions and recommendations were adopted on April 28, 2022.

On May 4, the British Virgin Islands (Commercial Division), which is part of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, issued a worldwide freezing order against persons unknown in relation to crypto fraud.  The decision emulates similar decisions in the UK and other commonwealth countries where courts commonly grant such relief.[1]

Global Witness issued a report on April 26, 2022, detailing possible violations of the International Tin Supply Chain Initiative (ITSCI).   ITSCI is a due diligence scheme that covers “3T minerals” (tantalum, tin, and tungsten) mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and neighboring countries.  Its purpose is to monitor the sourcing of minerals in these countries, and to prevent “conflict minerals” from entering the secure supply chain.  According to the Global Witness report, conflict minerals are being laundered through ITSCI approved mines and traders operating in the African Great Lakes Region of the DRC and Rwanda.

Efforts to implement sanctions against Russian oligarchs is progressing, as shown by an announcement on May 6 that Italy has seized a $700 million mega yacht linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin and on May 5 that Fiji has seized a $300 million yacht of sanctioned Russian oligarch Seleiman Kerimov at the request of the U.S.