#White collar crime:
A $5 billion scam: 47-year-old Chinese woman pleads guilty to bitcoin money laundering in London
A trial for bitcoin-related money laundering is currently underway at Southwark Crown Court in London. The defendant faces up to 14 years in prison for possession and transfer of criminal property, in this case cryptocurrencies. She admitted in court to laundering funds obtained from an investment scam, which were then converted into bitcoins. The total loss is estimated at over $5 billion. In a separate case, another individual has already been sentenced in the UK to 6 years and 8 months in prison. > Read article
Prime Service: Amazon agrees to pay $2.5 billion to settle legal dispute
Amazon has agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle a case brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over its Prime membership service. Since 2023, the company had been accused of enrolling users without explicit consent and making cancellation intentionally difficult. The settlement includes a $1 billion civil fine and $1.5 billion in compensation for approximately 35 million affected customers. The e-commerce giant will also be required to update its subscription and cancellation interfaces. The FTC hailed the agreement as “historic.” Amazon, for its part, maintains it has always complied with the law and now intends to refocus on innovation. > Read article
#Anti-Bribery and Corruption:
The trial of Rachida Dati for corruption and influence peddling scheduled from September 16 to 28, 2026, after the municipal elections
On 29 September 2025, the Paris Judicial Court announced that Rachida Dati will stand trial from 16 to 28 September 2026, alongside former Renault-Nissan chief executive, Carlos Ghosn. The former minister is charged with concealment of abuse of power, breach of trust, corruption and passive influence peddling by a person holding elected office within an international organisation, namely the European Parliament. Between 2010 and 2012, she allegedly received €900,000 from a Renault-Nissan subsidiary without providing any demonstrable services, while simultaneously working as a lawyer and Member of the European Parliament. Rachida Dati denies the allegations. > Read article
Jean-Charles Naouri before his judges: “We would like this trial to be the trial of crony capitalism.”
The trial of Jean-Charles Naouri, former CEO and majority shareholder of Casino, opens in Paris on October 1; he and three associates are charged with organized corruption and stock-price manipulation. After the group was handed over to Daniel Křetínský in March 2024 amid heavy debt and a market battle, six reports from the AMF sent to the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office in 2020 and 2024 are central to the case. The court will notably examine his ties with journalist-publisher Nicolas Miguet, paid €823,535 between September 2018 and May 2019, who is suspected of having promoted Casino’s stock and spread a rumor of a Carrefour takeover bid. The case more broadly raises questions about crony capitalism. > Read article
