On July 9, 2020, a Swiss criminal appellate court in the Canton of Geneva froze $900 million held in the accounts of Carlos Manuel de São Vicente, an Angolan businessman, as a result of a money laundering investigation.[1]

On August 14, 2020, Ireland agreed to return $6.5 million in funds stolen by former dictator Sani Abacha to the Nigerian government. Abacha served as the military head of state of Nigeria from 1993 till his death in office in 1998.[1]

On July 29, 2020, the UN Secretary-General submitted to the Security Council his report on action taken by Member States and United Nations entities to address the issue of connections between terrorism and organized crime.[1]

On August 27, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a civil forfeiture complaint against cryptocurrency funds of North Korean actors with respect to two hacks of virtual currency exchanges. The North Koreans allegedly stole millions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency and laundered the funds through Chinese over-the-counter (OTC) cryptocurrency traders. The complaint supplements related criminal and civil actions DOJ announced in March 2020 concerning the theft of $250 million in cryptocurrency through other exchange hacks by North Korean actors.[1]

In an unusual rebuke by one of America’s closest allies, the Canadian Federal Court decided that the Safe Third Country Agreement (“STCA”) between the United States and Canada was unconstitutional. The Court determined, in light of certain immigration policies, that the U.S. was in violation of many of its commitments as a “safe third country” for asylum seekers. Consequently, the continued enforcement of the STCA is a violation of Canadian constitutional protections. The decision will void the STCA in six months time and will require the Canadian government to take concrete steps towards adopting different border control policies.

On August 5, 2020, Europol released its report on the involvement of organized crime groups (OCGs) in sports corruption.[1]

On July 14, 2020, Europol released a document to Member State delegations in the Council's Law Enforcement Working Party (LEWP) setting out what it sees as the shortcomings in its current legal basis.[1] The document is intended to inform discussion on a forthcoming legal proposal that will give Europol more extensive powers.

On August 19, 2020, the Federal Police in Brazil detained brothers German and Jose Efromovich, the majority shareholders of Colombia’s Avianca Holders, in the Car Wash corruption investigation. Brazilian law enforcement authorities accuse them of bribing public officials and laundering money to earn a contract building ships with Transpetro, the logistics unit of Brazilian oil company Petrobras.[1]

On June 23, 2020, Europol released its “European Union Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (TE-SAT),”^[1] which has been produced annually since 2007.

On August 18, 2020, U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr sent a letter to Priti Patel, British Home Department Secretary, promising that, if the British government shares evidence with the U.S. by October 15, 2020, the U.S. will prosecute two notorious British Islamic detainees accused of participating in the torture and beheadings of Western hostages, without imposing the death penalty in the event they are convicted. If Britain does not transfer the evidence by October 15, then Barr promises to transfer them to Iraq for prosecution in the Iraqi justice system.[1]