Category: EU/Europe

Regulatory Watch News

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  Treasury Targets Hizballah-Aligned Officials Obstructing Peace and Disarmament

  OFAC

  May 21, 2026

  WASHINGTON—Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated nine individuals in Lebanon for obstructing the peace process in Lebanon and impeding the disarmament of Hizballah.  These Hizballah-aligned officials include individuals embedded across Lebanon’s parliament, military, and security sectors, where they seek to preserve the Iran-backed terrorist group’s influence over key Lebanese state institutions.  Hizballah’s continued militant activity and coercive influence over the Lebanese state undermine the Lebanese government’s ability to assert its authority over state institutions and disarm the terrorist group.

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  Interprovincial drug investigation leads to largest illicit drug seizure in Manitoba history, 33 individuals arrested: R24-1098/R25-2397

  FINTRAC

  May 21, 2026

  In May 2024, the Winnipeg Police Service’s Organized Crime Unit (OCU) commenced an investigation regarding an organized network of individuals that were importing large quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl into the city of Winnipeg. The drugs were then distributed throughout the Province of Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario. Investigators determined that the network was comprised of individuals with international ties associated to the upper echelon of Organized Crime in Canada including the Hells Angels, Wolfpack Alliance, and the Mexican Cartel. This organization was shown to exert significant control over the distribution of illicit commodities within Manitoba and other provinces.

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  Czechia: Two convicted of fraud involving childcare services

  European Public Prosecutor's Office

  May 21, 2026

  (Luxembourg, 21 May 2026) – An individual and an association were convicted today by the Regional court in Ostrava (Czechia), branch office of Olomouc, for fraudulently obtaining €200 000 (CZK 5 million) in EU funds for the provision of childcare services, following an investigation by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Zlín (Czechia).  The verdicts were the result of an agreement on guilt and punishment (a plea bargain), as the defendants pleaded guilty to all charges.