On Monday, April 6, 2020, the Trump administration designated the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM), an ultranationalist white supremacist group, as a terrorist organization on the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s (OFAC) “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” list and imposed sanctions upon its members.[1] The step was announced by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his counterterrorism coordinator Nathan Sales. The designation makes it illegal for Americans to engage in any transactions with the group and freezes any assets it may have in U.S. jurisdictions.[2]

On March 23, 2020, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) issued a report identifying the implications of global stablecoin initiatives for securities regulators. IOSCO is the international policy forum for securities regulators and a global standard setter for securities regulation.  Global Stablecoin Initiatives (“the Report”) discusses the regulatory issues arising from the use of global stablecoins and explores how existing IOSCO Principles and Standards could apply to these arrangements.[1]  The Report was prepared by IOSCO’s Fintech Network as part of an effort to evaluate global stablecoin proposals from a securities market regulator’s perspective.

On April 4, 2020, a Portuguese court seized the shares in telecommunications firm NOS of a holding company that Isabel dos Santos, the former first daughter and Angolan businesswoman, owned half of.[1] Sonaecom, a sub-holding of Portugals’s Sonae, said the court ordered the seizure concerning allegedly fraudulent schemes involving Isabel dos Santos.

On April 4, 2020, INTERPOL warned that cybercriminals are targeting critical healthcare institutions with ransomware. In response, the organization announced its Cybercrime Threat Response team is working closely with private partners in the cybersecurity industry to collection information and provide support to organizations targeted by ransomware.[1]  On April 6, 2020, INTERPOL issued a global threat assessment and, shortly before that, published international guidelines that outline the various roles carried out by law enforcement and how officers can protect themselves and their families during a pandemic.[2]

On April 6, 2020, Guatemala’s foreign ministry said that all flights from the United States returning deported Guatemalan migrants are suspended this week due to the coronavirus pandemic. The deportation flights resumed during the week of April 20. According to Joaquin Samayoa, a foreign ministry spokesman, the suspension is only in effect this week, which is when Christians celebrate Holy Week.[1]

On March 25, 2020 the UK Supreme Court delivered its judgment in the “Beatles” case. The ruling immediately hit the headlines for, among other things, calling the action of the UK Government “unlawful.”[1]

On March 17, 2020, the United States Secretary of State criticized France for releasing an Iranian relator wanted for prosecution by the U.S. in an apparent prisoner exchange with Iran.  On March 13, 2020, Jalal Rohollahnejad, whose extradition the U.S. had requested on charges of violating U.S. sanctions on Iran, was released in an apparent exchange for French researcher Roland Marchal, whom Iran had detained for more than eight months on charges of violating state security laws.[1]

On March 23, 2020, Swedbank released the investigative report conducted by law firm Clifford Chance showing anti-money laundering (“AML”) and sanctions gaps during the period 2014-2019, mainly in Swedbank’s Baltic operations.[1]  The report[2] comes at a time when Swedbank faces a joint investigation conducted by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority and the Estonian Financial Supervisory Authority, an investigation by Sweden’s economic crimes body and the U.S. and New York investigative and law enforcement authorities.[3]

On Thursday, March 26, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it indicted Nicolás Maduro and several of his colleagues on drug-trafficking and international cocaine trafficking conspiracy charges.[1] The colleagues include more than a dozen individuals, notably the Chief Justice of Venezuela’s Supreme Court and the defense minister. According to The Washington Post, Maduro could face a 50-year minimum prison sentence if extradited to the U.S. and convicted.[2]

On March 31, 2020, United States law enforcement agents on the San Diego Tunnel Task Force announced the uncovering on March 19 of a sophisticated drug smuggling tunnel, which goes under the U.S.-Mexico border to a warehouse in a commercial complex in the Otay Mesa area of San Diego. On April 1, 2020, President Donald Trump and law enforcement officials announced the U.S. government started enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Western Hemisphere.