Hello, and welcome to episode 51 of the Financial Crime Weekly Podcast, I’m your host, Chris Kirkbride. It’s been a very busy week for financial crime news this week. There’s a decent wedge of news on sanctions, fraud, bribery, and money laundering. We’ll also round-up the week’s cyber-attacks. Let’s make a start.

These are the links to the principal documents mentioned in the podcast:

BBC News, Fraud victim gets surprise £153,000 refund despite rules.

Council of the European Union, Human rights violations in Iran: EU sanctions additional eight individuals and one entity.

Gambling Commission, Gambling Commission fines 32Red and Platinum Gaming £7.1m.

Gambling Commission, 32Red Ltd Decision Notice.

Gambling Commission, Platinum Gaming Ltd Decision Notice.

Government of Canada, Canada bans Russian aluminium and steel imports.

Government of Canada, Regulations Amending the Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations.

HM Treasury, Joint HM Treasury and FCA statement on the Criminal Market Abuse Regimev.

International Monetary Fund, Opening Remarks for the Press Briefing on the IMF Executive Board Approval of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) Arrangement for Sri Lanka.

International Monetary Fund, Sri Lanka: Request for an Extended Arrangement Under the Extended Fund Facility-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Sri Lanka.

International Monetary Fund, IMF Executive Board Approves US$3 Billion Under the New Extended Fund Facility (EFF) Arrangement for Sri Lanka.

Joint Money Laundering Steering Group (JMLSG), Sector 8 (Non-life providers of investment fund products).

Joint Money Laundering Steering Group (JMLSG), Sector 9 (Discretionary and advisory investment management).

Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, General Licence – INT/2023/2589788.

Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Russia Sanctions: Guidance.

Payment Systems Regulator, PSR will publish data on how well customers are protected from scams.

Serious Fraud Office, SFO secures over $7 million from convicted Brazilian money launderer.

Serious Fraud Office, SFO recovers criminal assets from £740m property fraud concealed through school donation.

UK government, UK sanctions top Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps financiers.

US Attorney’s Office, Money Launderer Sentenced for $8 Million Romance Scam Fraud Scheme.

US Department of Justice, Former Florida State Representative Pleads Guilty To Wire Fraud, Money Laundering, And Making False Statements In Connection With Covid-19 Relief Fraud.

US Embassy in Bulgaria, Remarks by Richard Nephew, U.S. State Department Coordinator on Global Anti-Corruption.