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Regulatory Watch News

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  Chinese National Pleads Guilty to Narcotics Trafficking, Money Laundering, and Material Support to Terrorism in Homeland Security Task Force Investigation

  US Department of Justice

  June 30, 2026

    A Honduras-based Chinese national extradited from Guatemala pleaded guilty today to conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, conspiring to launder money derived from drug trafficking, and to providing material support to a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, specifically the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG). According to court documents, Wenshen Xu, 52, used a transportation network and contacts in Latin America to smuggle multi-kilogram loads of cocaine into the United States. Xu’s transportation network included access to airstrips, airports, armored cars, couriers, and associates. On July 17, 2025, Xu and others agreed to arrange and facilitate the transportation of a multi-kilogram load of cocaine out of Cali, Colombia, on behalf of an individual who claimed to represent the CJNG. Xu and his co-conspirators imported over 450 kilograms of cocaine into the United States. Xu and his co-conspirators also coordinated the laundering of over $22 million dollars from the sale of cocaine and fentanyl by drug trafficking organizations.

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  Terrorist Financing Targeting Center Jointly Designates Hizballah Financial Institutions and Senior Officials

  US Department of the Treasury

  June 30, 2026

  WASHINGTON—Today, the member states of the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC) announced joint designations targeting multiple key components of Hizballah’s financial infrastructure, including five entities and 16 individuals. The targets include major Hizballah institutions Al-Qard Al-Hassan (AQAH) and Bayt al-Mal, as well as their senior leaders. These coordinated actions underscore TFTC members’ shared commitment to disrupting Hizballah’s ability to exploit the international financial system. All targets announced today were previously designated by the United States. The TFTC conducts joint actions, such as sanctions designations, exchanges actionable information on terrorist financing networks, and builds member capacity to counter terrorist networks that threaten security and stability.

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  Italy: EPPO freezes textile products worth €11 million in ongoing investigation into smuggling of fabric from China

  European Public Prosecutor's Office

  June 30, 2026

  (Luxembourg, 30 June 2026) – At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Bologna (Italy), the Judge for Preliminary Investigations in Prato has issued a freezing order covering over 7.8 million metres of fabric and more than 237 000 garments, as part of an ongoing investigation into a VAT and customs fraud involving the smuggling of textile products from China. As previously reported, the goods, with an estimated market value of approximately €11 million, had been seized as evidence during searches carried out in warehouses in Prato. Following further investigative activities, the EPPO established the exact quantity and value of the seized products, as well as the amount of customs duties and import VAT allegedly evaded. On this basis, the court ordered their preventive freezing, with a view to their possible confiscation and sale by public auction