NEWS: SEC to notify firms of technical violations before enforcement action

Regulatory Watch News

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  Investigation Nimmersatt: second wave of arrests and searches in Lithuania in probe against criminal organisation smuggling hazardous salvage cars from US

  European Public Prosecutor's Office

  February 2, 2026

  (Luxembourg,  2 February 2026) – At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Vilnius (Lithuania), officers from Lithuania’s Financial crime investigation service (Finansinių nusikaltimų tyrimo tarnyba – FNTT), investigators from Germany’s Tax Investigation Office (Steuerfahndung) in Dresden  and Europol carried out over 40 searches in different cities in Lithuania. This is the second wave of investigative measures in a probe into a criminal organisation importing salvage cars from the United States (US) and reselling them after cosmetic repair, while evading custom duties and VAT.

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  Treasury Sanctions Iranian Regime Officials for Violent Repression and Corruption

  OFAC

  February 1, 2026

  WASHINGTON—Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took additional action against Iranian officials responsible for the regime’s brutal crackdown on its own people.  Among the officials sanctioned today is Eskandar Momeni Kalagari —Iran’s Minister of the Interior—who oversees the murderous Law Enforcement Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran (LEF), a key entity responsible for the deaths of thousands of peaceful protestors.

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  Investigation Steamboat: EPPO uncovers corruption and customs fraud in the Port of Antwerp

  European Public Prosecutor's Office

  January 30, 2026

  (Luxembourg, 30 January 2026) – The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Brussels (Belgium) is conducting an investigation into suspected customs fraud, corruption and the forgery of documents in the Port of Antwerp. Under the supervision of the investigating judge in Antwerp, seven searches were conducted, three individuals were arrested and several bank accounts as well as cash were seized on 20 January 2026. This action mobilised 48 customs and police officers from the investigation team from Belgium’s General Administration of Customs and Excise (Algemene Administratie van de Douane en Accijnzen), several units from the Belgian Federal Police (CDBC, FCCU) including the Canine Support Unit and could count on the support of the Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD).