#Anti-Bribery and Corruption:
Development Aid: Swedish Government Accused of Funding Corruption in Somalia
An investigation by Sweden’s public radio revealed that the Swedish government allegedly paid €9 million, drawn from the development aid budget to Somalia in exchange for the return of 28 Somali nationals residing irregularly in Sweden. The funds were reportedly directed toward projects controlled by the Somali government, outside the official procedures, and under the influence of the Somali Prime Minister’s inner circle. The Swedish opposition denounces what it calls a misuse of public funds for migration purposes and an attack on the legitimacy of the state, while the government defends what it describes as a strategic use of development aid to strengthen cooperation on returns of Somali nationals. > Read article
#White collar crime:
Bygmalion case: the Cour de cassation will rule on 26 November on Nicolas Sarkozy’s appeal
The French supreme court (Cour de cassation) will hand down its decision on 26 November regarding Nicolas Sarkozy’s appeal in the Bygmalion case. Convicted on appeal on 14 February 2024, to a one-year imprisonment sentence, with a six-months suspended sentence, for the illegal financing of his 2012 campaign, the former president denies any responsibility. The Advocate General has called for the appeal to be rejected. If so, the ruling would become his second final criminal conviction after the one handed down in the wiretapping case. Three other defendants (Guillaume Lambert, Éric Cesari, Pierre Chassat) have also filed appeals. This deadline comes as Sarkozy was sentenced at first instance to five years in prison in the Libya case and is due to learn the terms of his incarceration on 13 October. > Read article
#European Arrest Warrant, Extradition & Interpol:
Halima, daughter of former Tunisian dictator Ben Ali, placed under judicial supervision in France
Halima Ben Ali, daughter of the former Tunisian president, is the subject of a red notice issued by Interpol at the request of Tunisia for alleged embezzlement of funds. She was arrested during a stay in France and placed under judicial supervision while waiting for the examination of the extradition request on the merits. Her lawyer denounces a politically motivated procedure that endangers her client’s physical safety. A similar request had already been made by Tunisia in 2018 to the Italian authorities, who ordered Halima Ben Ali’s release. > Read article
Former member of the “gang de Roubaix” arrested in Greece and wanted by Bosnia
Lionel Dumont, a former member of the “Gang of Roubaix”, was arrested in Crete in May 2025 under an international arrest warrant issued by Bosnia and Herzegovina. Convicted in 1997 and sentenced to twenty years in prison for deadly armed robberies, he escaped custody in 1999. Retrialed in France in 2005, he was sentenced to 25 years and released in 2021. Bosnian authorities are now requesting his extradition, which he is contesting, citing the statute of limitations. His lawyer argues he should be extradited to France instead. The Greek judiciary is expected to deliver its decision on 20 October. > Read article
