NEWS: Underground bankers ‘abused’ EU protections for Ukrainian refugees to launder €100M

Regulatory Watch News

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  Former interpreter sentenced to nearly 5 years in prison for illegally transferring nearly $17 million from baseball star’s bank account

  IRS Criminal Investigation

  February 7, 2025

  SANTA ANA, California – A former Japanese-language interpreter was sentenced today to 57 months in federal prison for illegally – and without authorization – transferring nearly $17 million from the bank account of Major League Baseball (MLB) star Shohei Ohtani to pay off his own substantial gambling debts incurred with an illegal bookmaking operation and for signing a false tax return. Ippei Mizuhara of Newport Beach was sentenced by United States District Judge John W. Holcomb, who also ordered him to pay $16,975,010 in restitution to Ohtani and $1,149,400 in restitution to the IRS.

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  Bulgaria: anti-corruption body assesses implementation of recommendations to prevent corruption in central government and law enforcement agencies

  Council of Europe

  February 7, 2025

  The Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) has published the first report assessing Bulgaria’s compliance with its recommendations to prevent corruption and promote integrity in central government and law enforcement agencies, addressed to Bulgaria in 2022. GRECO concludes that Bulgaria has fully implemented seven of the 28 recommendations. Of the outstanding 21 recommendations, eleven have been partly implemented and ten have not been implemented at all.

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  MFSA Strengthens Ties with Spanish Financial Network

  MFSA

  February 7, 2025

  The Malta Financial Services Authority has recently participated in a business meeting organised in Madrid by the Malta Embassy in Spain, in collaboration with the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE). Malta and Spain share a strong diplomatic and political relationship, and this meeting provided an opportunity to further enhance collaboration between the two countries, particularly in the financial services sector and international engagement, with a focus on third-market regions.