U.S.
- Russian officials bragged in conversations during the presidential campaign that they had cultivated a strong relationship with former Trump adviser Michael Flynn and believed they could use him to influence Trump and his team.
- Miami’s Porsche Design Tower developers— whose luxury condominium on Sunny Isles once featured Alicia Keys as a headliner— have been tied to the ongoing Brazilian money laundering probe.
- Former CIA Director John Brennan said he spoke directly to the head of Russia’s main security agency last summer, complaining about the harassment of U.S. diplomats and apparent Russian efforts to meddle in the presidential election campaign.
- The Trump administration, in a significant escalation of its clash with the government’s top ethics watchdog, has moved to block an effort to disclose the names of former lobbyists who have been granted waivers to work in the White House or federal agencies.
- Former FBI Director James Comey agreed to publicly testify in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee as part of an investigation into Russia’s interference in the election.
- “Kushner’s form lists hundreds of private companies. Some of the investments he kept are held by shell companies that are virtually impossible to track, and Kushner has declined to make public more information on those entities.” -WaPo
- Democratic lawmakers asked Deutsche Bank to hand over its findings on two politically charged matters — its banking on behalf of now-President Trump and trades from the bank’s Moscow operation that helped move some $10 billion out of Russia. Read the original letter here.
- Officials say Jared Kushner is under scrutiny in the FBI’s Russia probe.
Europe
- Ukrainians say the FBI is questioning them about Paul Manafort’s past.
- Ukrainian prosecutors raid ex-PrivatBank officials and firms suspected of €9 billion fraud.
- Swiss real estate is currently an attractive option for foreigners looking for high yielding Swiss franc investments. But there are also more sinister reasons for wealthy people from abroad to put their money into Swiss bricks and mortar – money laundering.
Russia
- Putin’s shadow cabinet and the bridge to Crimea — why the Russian President’s childhood judo partner is leading the country’s most ambitious construction project.
- Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service announced it’s uncovered a price-fixing cartel in the Defense Ministry’s procurement contracts, and the companies involved are the same ones opposition leader Navalny says belong to the billionaire known as “Vladimir Putin’s favorite chef.”
China
- Forbes asks the question on China’s project: One Belt, One Road, Many Bribes?
Brazil
- A culture of corruption engulfs Brazilian elite— the presidential scandal strikes at the core of the system of patronage but incentives that fuel bribery will be hard to eradicate. In addition, Bloomberg reports how Brazil’s car wash scandal reveals a country soaked in corruption.
Africa
- After 37 years, Angola will get a new president. Can he reduce widespread corruption? (Transparency International gives Angola a poor grade on fighting corruption, ranking it 164 out of 176 countries.)
- The Gambia’s former president stole “at least” $50 million from the state before he left the country in January.
