On May 22, 2025, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) unveiled an indictment of Rustam Rafailevich Gallyamov for his role in the Qakbot malware scheme.[1] The DOJ accuses Gallyamov, a Russian national, of developing Qakbot – a malicious ransomware that hijacks the unsuspecting user’s computer system – and assisting in its distribution to a variety of criminal gangs and networks.[2]

On May 22, 2025, the United States (U.S.) Attorney General and the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Joint Criminal Opiod and Darknet Enforcement (JCODE) team, and international law enforcement partners, such as Europol, announced the results of Operation RapTor, including the arrests of 270 dark web vendors, buyers, and administrators in Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.[1]

On May 14, the Council of Europe (CoE) officially adopted the Convention on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law. This was done through the decision adopted by the Committee of Ministers at the 134^th session, under the Heading Issue 3: Implementation of the Reykjavík Declaration – Follow-up Decisions.[1]

On May 23, 2025, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced significant relief from sanctions imposed on Syria, with the issuance of a new General License, and the State Department issued a temporary waiver under the Caesar Act. 

On May 22, 2025, twenty-one-year-old Michail Chkhikvishvili, a native of Tbilisi, Georgia, was extradited from Moldova to the U.S. to face a four-count indictment relating to the solicitation of hate crimes. 

On May 21, 2025, Douglas Edelman, a former defense contractor, pleaded guilty to tax crimes concerning his efforts to defraud the United States and evade taxes on income that he earned from his contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense.[1]

On May 21, 2025, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) issued a statement on combating online fraud and the role of Platform Providers.[1] Meanwhile, the private sector[2] and civil society organizations[3] have also blown their bugles for strengthening efforts to prevent and combat online fraud from social media platforms.

On March 6, 2025, Sudan initiated proceedings against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), alleging violations of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide[2] (the Genocide Convention).[3]

On May 1, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a finding and notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) under Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act identifying Cambodia-based Huione Group as a financial institution of primary money laundering concern and proposing to close its access to the U.S. financial system.[1]

On April 15, 2025, a former soldier within Gambia’s military force was convicted by a U.S. jury of five counts of torture and one count of conspiracy to commit torture in Denver, Colorado. Following a five-day trial, this historic judgment marks the first time a non-U.S. citizen has ever been found criminally responsible for torture committed internationally by a jury in the United States.