On April 25, 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced a new Policy on Complementarity and Cooperation.  The Policy aims to enhance the ICC’s long-regnant position as a supplement to national courts through the adoption of new, dynamic cooperation tactics in the hopes that fewer perpetrators will enjoy immunity, and more will suffer justice at the local level.[1]

           On May 14, 2023, French authorities announced that Ian Thomas Cleary, 31, had been taken into custody last month in Metz, France for a stolen goods case. On April 24, 2024, Cleary was detained in France as part of a police check and told the magistrate he “arrived in France two or three years ago” from Albania.[1] He is currently in detention and may be extradited to the U.S. in up to 60 days, the exact amount of time American judicial authorities have to submit their extradition request.[2]

           On May 19, 2024, a pair of High Court judges in Britain decided Julian Assange can appeal his extradition to the U.S. after reviewing the request assurances the United States government sent.[1]

           The Drug Enforcement Administration released on May 9, the National Drug Threat Assessment 2024 (NDTA-2024). The DEA portrays Mexican transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) as the dominant element behind the lethal fentanyl issue in the United States. While sparsely mentioning that chemical precursors are produced in China and India, and transported to Mexico, NDTA-2024 seemingly plays down the intricate relationships between various players in the fentanyl sector, as well as the extensive worldwide supply network that underpins the drug's manufacture, distribution, and transit.

           On May 3, 2024, the U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of Texas unsealed an indictment charging U.S. Congressman Enrique Roberto “Henry” Cuellar, 68, and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, 67, both of Laredo, Texas, with engaging in two schemes involving bribery, unlawful foreign influence, and money laundering.

           On Friday, May 3, 2024, Canadian police arrested three Indian nationals — Karan Brar, Kamalpreet Singh, and Karanpreet Singh — for the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijar. The three men, who were living as non-residents in Canada, were arrested in Edmonton, Alberta, and are charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. This case began last summer and has created significant diplomatic tensions between Canada and India

           On May 10, the United States Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), and other federal law enforcement agencies completed the annual Money Mule Initiative, which identifies, disrupts, and criminally prosecutes networks of individuals who send funds from fraud victims to international fraudsters. Fraudsters depend on money mules to facilitate a range of fraud schemes, including ones that mainly impact older Americans, such as lottery fraud, romance scams, and grandparent scams, and persons who target businesses or government pandemic funds.

        On May 7, 2024, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the unsealing of charges against a Russian national for his alleged role as the creator, developer, and administrator of the LockBit ransomware group from its start in September 2019.  LockBit is believed to be the most prolific ransomware group in the world.

        On Thursday, May 2, 2024, President Joseph Bokai signed an executive order to establish a war crimes court in Liberia. The establishment of this court is in direct response to Liberia’s back-to-back civil wars from 1989 to 2003, where over 250,000 people were killed, and sexual violence and torture ran rampant in the country.