On May 9, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Joseph James O’Connor, aka PlugwalkJoe, 23, pleaded guilty in New York to his role in cyberstalking and multiple schemes involving computer hacking, including the July 2020 hack of Twitter.  Spain extradited him on April 26, 2023.[1]

Catalytic converters are found in nearly all fuel combustion vehicles built over the last forty or more years.  The converters comprise part of a vehicle’s exhaust system and are designed to scrub carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and other pollutants from the exhaust gases and convert the exhaust into much less harmful carbon dioxide vapor (CO2).  As the converters must operate at a temperature of around 400 degrees C, they are placed close to a vehicle’s engine, usually directly behind the exhaust manifold at the head of the exhaust system along the undercarriage of the vehicle.  The location and way they connect to the exhaust system render them easily accessible for removal by thieves, particularly on high-clearance vehicles (pickup trucks and construction equipment). 

Moldova is facing an inflection point in its efforts to strengthen its anti-corruption institutions and processes.   On May 2, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office announced criminal charges against former Moldovan Prime Minister Iurie Leanca and seven other people in a corruption case as a result of a concession that provided control of the country’s principal airport to an entity associated with businessman and politician Ilan Shor, who departed Moldova in 2019 after the election of pro-Western President Maia Sandu.[1]  On May 22, 2023, Veronica Dragalin, head of the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office, called for the Superior Council of Magistracy to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the judge of the Buiucani Court of Chisnau who ordered the criminal proceedings against ex-deputy Vladimir Andronachi in the bank fraud case in a closed session at the request of the defense.[2]

On May 17, 2023, the Danish Tax Authority (Skattestyrelsen or SKAT)  won a final verdict in the Supreme Court  (also known as the Court of Cassation) in Dubai when the court denied an appeal from Sanjay Shah, the alleged mastermind and ringleader of the fraud.  As a result, Shah must repay DKK 8.5 billion (approximately US 1.2 billion).  The verdict is the first final verdict in favor of the Danish Tax Authority, which has brought several cases in various foreign courts.[1]

On May 4, 2023, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) released an expert report on the abduction of children in Ukraine by the Russian military and authorities.

It has taken nearly 20 years, but a decision by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court has cleared the way for the return of around USD 8.5 million in corruptly obtained assets to Peru. The money to be returned is part of a complex of cases linked to Vladimiro Montesinos, Head of Intelligence under former President Alberto Fujimori.

On May 9, 2023, the United States Department of Justice announced the completion of a court-authorized operation, code-named MEDUSA, to disrupt a global peer-to-peer network of computers compromised by sophisticated malware, named “Snake”,  that is attributed to a unit within Center 16 of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB).  For approximately twenty years, this unit, called “Turla” in court documents, has deployed versions of the Snake malware to steal sensitive documents from hundreds of computer systems in at least 50 countries, belonging to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member governments, journalists, and other targets of interest to the Russian Federation.  After it stole these documents, Turla exfiltrated them through a covert network of unwitting Snake-compromised computers in the U.S. and worldwide.[1]

On April 6, 2023, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), which is established under the United Nations Human Rights Council, issued an opinion, finding various violations of the international human rights of Abu Zubaydah, whom the U.S. has held in Guantánamo since 2006 without charges.[1]

On or about May 11, 2023, the Peruvian Government  indicated its willingness to extradite Joran van der Sloot, the main suspect in the 2005 disappearance and presumed murder of 18 year-old Natalee Holloway, to the U.S. to stand trial on charges that he allegedly extorted her mother.[1]

On May 16, 2023, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed two indictments charging Mikhail Pavolovish Matveev,  a Russian national and resident, with using three different ransomware variants to attack numerous victims throughout the United States and sell access to ransomware know how in a wholesale way.[1]  The U.S. Department of the Treasury added the same person to its list of Specially Designated Nationals.[2]  In addition, the U.S. Department of State announced a reward offer, under the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program (TOCRP), of up to $10 million, for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Matveev for transnational organized crime.[3]