Very few knew of Tren de Aragua a year ago, and yet, it now features as an unpleasant face of the American migrant crisis that is driving support for the Republican ticket.  In its transition from obscurity to national notoriety, the Venezuelan gang has incurred the ire of both the American people and the US Treasury -- who sanctioned the gang in July.

             On September 13, 2024, the United States Court for the Eastern District of New York arraigned Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Garcia, 76, a citizen of Mexico, on 17 counts related to drug trafficking, firearms offenses, and money laundering.  The arraignment concerned the fifth superseding indictment concerning El Mayo’s leadership over decades of the Sinaloa Cartel.  El Mayo was previously charged with operating a continuing criminal enterprise, murder conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and marijuana manufacture and distribution conspiracy, as well as other drug-related crimes.[1]

             Philippine authorities arrested Apollo Quiboloy, a high-profile televangelist wanted for human trafficking and sexual exploitation, on September 8, 2024, after a two-week manhunt. Quiboloy, the founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC), a megachurch claiming millions of followers worldwide, stands accused of orchestrating a sex trafficking ring that targeted minors and exploited his congregation for labor. Quiboloy was apprehended at his 75-acre compound in Davao City after a large-scale raid by the Philippine National Police, who also issued a 24-hour ultimatum for Quiboloy, and four others implicated in the case to surrender[1]. His capture, involving thousands of law enforcement officers, marks a significant victory for international authorities but also highlights the intricate political and diplomatic hurdles that often complicate such high-profile cases. Philippine Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos announced the arrest in a Facebook post, sharing a selfie with the pastor in custody.

                On July 2, 2024, the Spanish National Police (Policía Nacional) arrested a lawyer, suspected of bribing high-level officials in Equatorial Guinea. He is charged with corruption, money laundering, falsification of accounts, and forgery of documents.[1] The investigation, which was coordinated by the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Corruption and Organized Crime and supported by the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), uncovered that the Spanish lawyer transferred nearly EUR 4.5 million through his project development company to obtain a contract to build a fishing industry company in Equatorial Guinea. On “action day,” Spanish law enforcement executed two house searches in Asturias seizing five pieces of real estate valued at EUR 4.5 million, EUR 30,000 in cash, and 21 bank accounts holding over EUR 2 million.[2] Their discoveries led to the lawyer’s eventual arrest.

                 As the national elections in the United States progress, several initiatives have occurred to counter alleged interference by the Russian Government with the elections.  The U.S. and two other governments designated parents of Russia Today (RT) for sanctions. On September 16, Meta, and YouTube announced they would ban Russian media outlets, including RT, stating they have conducted covert influence campaigns across social media sites to manipulate discourse online. On September 12, a jury convicted four U.S. citizens for conspiring to act as agents for the Russian government.  

                 INTERPOL’s “Rules on the Processing of Data” (RPD) are second in importance only to its Constitution, as the RPD set out how INTERPOL interprets the requirements of its Constitution in practice. RPD violations are frequently utilized by targets of Red Notices and their attorneys to request the deletion of abusive or improper requests for cooperation. The RPD are also subject to frequent revision, having been amended four times (2014, 2016, 2019, and 2023) since their adoption in 2011.

                On September 17, 2024, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority released a statement that in enforcement proceedings it found that Mirabaud & Cie SA (Mirabaud), a Swiss bank, breached its anti-money laundering obligations and seriously violated Swiss financial services law.  FINMA forfeited CHF 12.7 million in unlawfully generated profits and ordered Mirabaud not to accept any new clients with increased money laundering risks until it has restored compliance.  FINMA has ordered additional prevention measures.[1]

             On September 13, 2024, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the indictment of film producer Nigel Sinclair and Australian accountant Anthony Stewart for their alleged participation in a multi-decade conspiracy to conceal Sinclair’s income and assets offshore.[1] The tax loss was said to be $5 million.[2]

              On September 5, 2024, the Council of Europe (CoE) opened for signature the Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law.[1] Given how hotly artificial intelligence (AI) has been discussed over the last several years, it should not come as a surprise that the CoE resolved to prepare a treaty on how AI should be compliant with its three principal areas of activity, namely human rights, democracy and the rule of law. After all, for many decades now CoE treaties have always been at the forefront of international legal developments (suffice to mention insider dealing, money laundering, financing of terrorism, and trafficking in human beings). The purpose of this short article is to offer an overview of the Convention, which in Article 2 defines AI systems as ‘a machine-based system that, for explicit or implicit objectives, infers, from the input it receives, how to generate outputs such as predictions, content, recommendations or decisions that may influence physical or virtual environments.’

              It is settled law that a refusal to extradite is not in itself a basis for the deletion of a Red Notice or diffusion from INTERPOL’s files.  In 1984, the INTERPOL General Assembly resolved: “[I]f certain countries refuse extradition, this is reported to the other NCBs in an addendum to the original notice.” [1]  The Commission for the Control of INTERPOL’s Files has been applying this rule while adjudicating individual cases, repeatedly reminding us that a refusal to extradite does not per se lead to the deletion of a government request from the Organization’s databases: “[the] mere fact that one of INTERPOL’s Member countries has denied the extradition of an individual subject to a Red Notice does not, in itself, directly affect the compliance of the corresponding data registered in INTERPOL’s files.”[2]  However, the role of a refusal to extradite is not always limited to a mere addendum to a government request that otherwise continues to linger in the Organization’s databases.