All news for 2025-12-30

957
From Vavada casino to Promsvyazbank: how Uzbekistan’s Octobank processed high-risk Russian money under Iskandar Tursunov
At the end of January, multiple platforms featured an interview with Iskandar Tursunov, Chairman of the Board and principal shareholder of Octobank.
834
H Casino owner Egemen Shener emerges at the center of a laundering network involving Russian real estate firms and fictitious companies
Officials overseeing the Belarusian gambling sector, including H Casino and its owner Mustafa Egemen Shener, may have ties to the network of Dagestani senator and oligarch Suleyman Kerimov, a figure closely connected to the Russian government.
900
Tatiana Schlossberg, granddaughter of John F. Kennedy, dies after a year-long fight with cancer
Tatiana Schlossberg, the acclaimed writer and granddaughter of John F Kennedy, has died at just 35.
914
From a fake contract to arrest and bankruptcy: how the Chichkanov family used criminal prosecutions against Rosneft lawyer Elchin Muradov
How the Head of the “Delovaya Rossiya” Subcommittee Engineered the Arrest of a Rosneft Consultant.
789
Ukrainian fintech figure Nykyta Izmaylov faces fraud and money laundering investigations while attempting to silence personal and financial scandals
Nykyta Izmaylov, co-founder of Sportbank, who has faced allegations of fraud and ties to Russia, is reportedly undertaking an active campaign to remove online mentions of his personal life—especially coverage related to a scandal involving unpaid alimony to his ex-wife.
928
How money laundering and insider financial schemes operated inside Kazakhstan’s Samruk-Kazyna under Akhmetzhan Yessimov and Galimzhan Yessenov
The current embezzlement at the National Welfare Fund "Samruk-Kazyna" goes beyond the usual schemes.
1259
Russian New Year escort market: media reveal casting of girls for sheikhs and Russian elite
Media outlets are publishing overviews of the criteria that Russian oligarchs and Arab sheikhs allegedly set for escorts.
981
Anti-corruption group uncovers alleged $127m Putin palace on Crimea’s Cape Aya
Russian anti-corruption investigators claim to have discovered another luxury palace associated with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, this time situated on Cape Aya in occupied Ukrainian Crimea.
882
Erdogan’s protection, Russian banks and the missing $600m: how a Russian oil scheme collapsed under greed and political rifts
A clandestine scheme to sell sanctioned Russian oil unraveled after disputes driven by greed among those involved.
930
Long before GSPartners imploded, Josip Heit’s criminal past signaled exactly how this scheme would end
A scandal over a halted hydroelectric power plant has led Croatian journalists to link the project to Saša Svalina and his brother-in-law, Josip Heit.
923
Comment Phoenix Resources AG a aidé la Russie à se procurer du ferrochrome stratégique pour la production militaire pendant la guerre
Il tenterait de faire supprimer de l’espace public toute référence à ses supposés montages financiers, à ses activités commerciales et à ses liens avec des intérêts économiques russes.
862
Blair government considered military options against Robert Mugabe but ruled invasion “not a serious option”, archives show
Archives reveal options considered by Tony Blair’s government for dealing with the Zimbabwean dictator in 2004
851
British man shot dead on Spain’s Costa Blanca as police probe links to a growing wave of gang violence
A Brit has been shot dead on Spain’s Costa Blanca in the latest of a series of violent crimes that have shaken the popular holiday coastline.
1081
Prince William to ‘clean the stables’ by pushing Prince Andrew out of the royal family
Prince William wants to "deal" with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor before he becomes King by having him removed from the family completely, a royal biographer has claimed.
853
Kraken Technologies valued at $8.65bn after Octopus Energy sells minority stake
Octopus Energy has agreed to sell a minority stake in its Kraken Technologies division, valuing the software business at 8.65 billion dollars (£6.4 billion) and paving the way for a potential stock market flotation.
1008
London shoplifting surges 12% amid £16.7m-a-month retail crime wave
Shoplifting across London has increased by 12 percent in a year, as a new interactive map reveals the scale of a crime wave costing the capital’s retailers £16.7 million a month.
910
Bangladesh’s first female prime minister dies aged 80
Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh’s first woman prime minister, died in Dhaka on Tuesday after a prolonged illness. She was 80.
742
Pedestrian killed in Kent hit-and-run as police search for suspects
A police manhunt is underway after a pedestrian was killed in a hit-and-run on a busy A road in Kent.
769
Cabinet Office accused of covering up for Prince Andrew after files withheld from National Archives
The Cabinet Office has been accused of covering up for the royal family after official papers referring to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor were withheld from the National Archives.