The so-called ‘special military operation’ that the Russian Federation has waged against Ukraine since February 2022 has had, directly or indirectly, several consequences and repercussions in its relations with Europe and other Western countries. One of them has been what appears to be a tit-for-tat accusation for the perpetration of acts of genocide before and during World War II. The purpose of this article is to examine these allegations in chronological order and to offer a brief evaluation. As will be ascertained, even though these accusations concern events that go as far back as 90 years, they have invariably been connected to the Russian aggression against Ukraine.

On March 18, 2024, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) decided to impose a fine of £5.95 Million on Nailesh Teraiya, formerly the sole controller and chief executive of Indigo Global Partners Limited (Indigo), and to prohibit him from carrying out any regulated activity.

On March 26, the King’s Bench Division issued a 66-page opinion, stating that Julian Assange has a real prospect of success on 3 of the 9 grounds of appeal.  It has given the United States Government  an opportunity to offer assurances that would address those groups of appeal.  Unless the U.S. gives satisfactory assurances, the Court will grant leave to appeal on those grounds.

 On March 19, 2024, a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida returned an indictment charging a former finance director of the Latin America division of Stericycle Inc., an international waste management company headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois, for participating in a scheme to pay more than $10 million in bribes to foreign officials in Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina.

On March 12, 2024, a Montana man pleaded guilty to two felony wildlife crimes – a conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act and substantively violating the Lacey Act.  The charges resulted from activities that occurred for approximately a decade to develop giant sheep hybrids in the United States with the purpose of selling the species to captive hunting facilities.[1]

On March 12, 2024, a Bucharest court approved the extradition of Andrew and Tristan Tate to the United Kingdom to answer charges of sexual aggression.  The court ruled that the Tate brothers will only be extradited to the U.K. after their trial in Romania on separate charges of human trafficking, rape, and participating in a criminal group to sexually exploit women concludes.[1]

On March 25, 2024, a U.S. District Court in Arizona denied the motion to dismiss by five gun dealers. It ruled that the Government of Mexico could continue its lawsuit to hold the gun dealers liable for allegedly facilitating gun trafficking from the U.S. into Mexico and causing substantial gun violence in Mexico.

On March 13, 2024, the European Parliament adopted a legislative resolution on the proposal for a directive on asset recovery and confiscation. [1]

On February 20, 2024, the Council of the European Union issued a revised list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes, which includes American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Fiji, Guam, Palau, Panama, the Russian Federation, Samoa, Trinidadand Tobago, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Vanuatu.[1]