Governmental and police corruption has long been a problem in South Africa. In recent months, a widespread investigation was launched into possible links between the South African police minister, Senzo Mchunu, and organized crime. According to a BBC report, the investigation, formally titled the Madlinga Commission, named after Judge Mbuyiseli Madlinga, has unearthed explosive testimony. The first major revelation was from the head of police intelligence, Dumisani Khumalo, who stated that there was a widespread cartel called the “ big five” that had its fingers in everything from drugs to contract killing. He also alleged that there were serving police officers who were prominent members of the cartel. In the most recent developments, another report in the BBC, a man named Wiandre Pretorious, who had been named in court documents, last week survived an attempt on his life, and reportedly shot himself at a gas station. This is very complex and developing, so it is unclear how it will end.
Category: Transnational Crime
Mexican Security Chief Tangled in Complex Cartel Web.
(Note: The following events detailed in this article occurred last year, going to 2019. This is also a very complex story.)
Back in 2019, a gentleman named Trindad Alberto de la Cruz Miranda (otherwise known as El Pelon de Playas, translated as “the bald man of the beaches”) was arrested. At the time, he was the head of the notorious Los Zetas cartel in the state of Tabasco in Southeast Mexico. Immediately, the new secretary of security in Tabasco, Hernan Bermudez, was targeted by members of Los Zetas. According to a report in El País, Bermúdez was nominated to the post by Tabasco governor Adán Augusto López. Not long after Bermudez took over as Security chief, it emerged that he was the head of La Barredora, a regional branch of the New Generation cartel based in the state of Jalisco.
On December 4th, 2020, the criminal scene in Tabasco shifted dramatically when two gentlemen known by their aliases as Pantera (Panther) and Toro (Bull), who were involved in widespread stealing of fuel (a common criminal pursuit in Tabasco), executed someone who went by the Alias Kalimba, who had close ties to Los Zetas. Consequently, Pantera and Toro assumed Kalimba’s old fuel smuggling territory. Shortly after that, in 2021, the Mexican Ministry of Defense finally named Bermudez as the head of a massive criminal enterprise. As of September 2025, there was a report from the AP that Bermudez fled to Paraguay with the intention of setting up a criminal enterprise there. However, shortly after he arrived, he was arrested and extradited to Mexico to face charges of criminal association, extortion, and kidnapping. If you have to go to the police in Mexico, you have two problems.
Where in the World is Jho Low?
Recently, numerous reports have surfaced regarding the whereabouts of the fugitive Malaysian financier Jho Low. Low is involved in the infamous 1MDB scandal, which involved Low stealing billions of dollars from a now dormant Malaysian government fund. According to a report by Reuters, Low was spotted in Macau hiding out from the international authorities aiming to bring him to justice. Macau, a haven for gambling, increases the possibility that Low was frittering away his ill-gotten gains at the baccarat tables. Yesterday it was reported by al-Jazeera that a close associate of Jho Low named Kee Kok Thiam died of a “sudden massive stroke” shortly after the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) confirmed that Thiam was the one who confirmed Low’s whereabouts. The big question is, was Thiam’s death of natural causes, or did Low play a role in Thiam’s untimely demise?
The EU Aims to Enhance their Anti-Corruption Protocols.
Yesterday, the European Union announced new measures to combat Anti-Corruption. This comes after a recent scandal involving allegations of influence peddling between members of the European Parliament and Qatari government officials. According to a report in The Guardian, the EU executive body plans to criminalize abuse of office, illicit enrichment, and obstruction of justice in cases of misconduct. One of the primary aims of this proposal would be to make it easier for police forces to work together in solving cases across the EU involving transnational criminal groups. This is just a proposal, and despite its importance, it may never come to fruition due to internal European politics.
Russia and Indonesia Sign Extradition Agreement to Stop Transnational Crime
Recently, Russia and Indonesia agreed to an extradition pact between the two countries. In a report by ABC News, this agreement is presented as a way to stop transnational criminals from operating between the two countries. The Russian minister of justice said, “ With this treaty signed, we now have a legal basis for our cooperation in the sphere of combating crimes, and this is going to be systematical and productive in the future.” The Russian Government will invest in the Indonesian railway network as part of this agreement. While this agreement may seem relatively innocent on the surface, there is every chance that Russia could use it to forcibly bring back those it sees as dissidents, which would align with Moscow’s view on human rights.
UK Government Plan to Enhance Their Transnational Crime Laws.
Recently, the UK Government announced a plan to strengthen its laws regarding transnational crime. A primary focus of this plan is to stop the flow of illicit money entering the country. The government’s press release states it will commit £400 million to combating money laundering worldwide. Despite this supposed rosy outlook, a report by The Guardian suggests that the level of commitment, both in terms of money and personnel, is not enough. Despite the language in the government report, the Guardian notes there are concerns by both politicians and think tanks that not enough is being done to stop the flow of Russian money into the UK. It strikes me that there will need to be more investment into this issue if the tap of dirty money is ever to be turned off.
Allegations of Corruption at The Lebanese Central Bank.
Recently, allegations of embezzlement, money laundering, and illicit enrichment have been leveled at the head of the Lebanese central bank Riad Salameh, his brother Raja, and an advisor to Riad. According to an article by the BBC, Salameh and his brother allegedly stole $300 million from Banque Du Liban between 2002 and 2015. Lebanon is a country that, in recent years, has been in the grip of a prolonged recession. According to statistics in the BBC article, 80 percent of the population in Lebanon lives in poverty. A report in Reuters stated that Salameh and his brother allegedly funneled the stolen money through a shell company called Forry Associates based in the British Virgin Islands. It was alleged that a large portion of the funds stolen was used to purchase real estate in European countries.
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) announced that it was investigating twelve banks that are thought to have aided Salameh in his misdeeds. FINMA recently froze the Swiss assets of Salameh. Several well-known banks, such as HSBC, where Salameh holds an account, could be caught up in the investigation. The situation regarding the charges Salameh faces in Lebanon is more complex. An article by The National News, an English-language newspaper based in the United Arab Emirates, reports that Raja Hamoush, the public prosecutor for Beirut, confirmed that Salameh was being charged with embezzlement, money laundering, and illicit enrichment. In a separate article by The National, another investigation of similar scope was started in 2021 by Lebanese judge Jean Tannous. This appears to be a tangled legal web that will take some time to resolve if it gets sorted out.
The Wagner Group Sanctioned: Putin’s Corrupt Paramilitary
Recently, a mysterious paramilitary group called the Wagner Group, run by a crony of President Putin, has been in the news. Wagner is run by a man named Yevgeny Prigozhin, who, earlier in his life, was in prison after committing a series of robberies in the early 80s. According to an article in The Guardian, Prigozhin excelled in the free-wheeling culture in St Petersburg in the early 1990s. He quickly moved from selling hot dogs to buying up stakes in supermarkets and a liquor store. Eventually, he started managing a restaurant called the Old Customs House, where he made meaningful political connections.
Not long after, Prigozhin started to get involved in military-related issues due to being awarded catering contracts for the army. Shortly afterwards, according to the article in The Guardian, he asked the Russian Ministry of Defense for a parcel of land to train “volunteers” that would have no links to the regular Russian army. The organization quickly became Putin’s go-to option for any off-the-books military operations and gained a bloody reputation in Syria. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Wagner has taken a more prominent role within the Russian military. On January 20th, Wagner was sanctioned by the U.S. government as a transnational criminal organization. According to an article in the AP, Wagner allegedly spends over $100 million monthly on the war in Ukraine. It is not clear from the article where precisely this money comes from, but it is a safe assumption that it comes from the Russian state. If the West is to aid Ukraine, limiting the ability of people or entities wishing to provide material support to the Wagner group will be essential.
The Trial of Fox Sports’ Acquisition of World Cup Rights
Recently, an ongoing trial has occurred in New York City involving executives from Fox Sports who are facing allegations of paying bribes to secure the World Cup rights for 2018 and 2022, as well as for the Copa Libertadores, a tournament involving clubs from countries from South America. According to an article in the AP, Fox executives schemed to undermine rival bids for the TV rights. The primary witness, Alejandro Burzaco, has alleged that his fellow Fox executives bribed South American football officials to obtain the rights. According to a New York Times article, a well-known former FIFA official from Argentina, Julio Grondona (now deceased), was quoted to have said, “ If Fox puts up $400 million, it will win the rights”. This trial comes amid previous corruption scandals that have engulfed FIFA recently. This trial is ongoing, and there will likely be more revelations—updates to follow.
Going Bust: The Troubles of Michelle Mone
Recently, Baroness Michelle Mone, a member of the House of Lords in the United Kingdom, has been facing allegations that she and her family have unethically profited from government contracts awarded at the beginning of the pandemic. Mone is well known in the UK for founding Ultimo, a designer lingerie brand, leading to the nickname in some quarters of the UK media as “Baroness Bra.” On November 23 of last year, The Guardian published an exclusive saying that Mone and her children received £29 million ($36 million) from the profits of a company called Medpro PPE. Medpro was given a £200 million contract to provide Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) through the so-called “VIP lane,” where the government appeared to hand out contracts to companies with close links to people in government. Some of the PPE Medpro provided to the government proved defective and is currently sitting in warehouses.
In the case of Mone specifically, according to a follow-up article in The Guardian, it is clear that the Baroness had a much less stressful pandemic than most people. She and her then fiancé, a businessman named Douglas Barrowman, bought a luxury yacht called the Lady M. It is alleged that Barrowman received 65 million pounds in profits through the same scheme and then passed 29 million pounds of that on to an offshore trust that Mone and her children control. recently, The Guardian published an article saying Mone is taking a leave of absence from the House of Lords to try and clear her name. It is unclear what will happen next, but it appears that Baroness Mone has some explaining to do about how she may have profited off the misery of millions.
Crispin Corruption Report 