Europol has issued a stark warning about the increasing recruitment of minors by transnational organized crime (TOC) networks across Europe. This trend, which leverages evolving digital platforms and encrypted communication, has emerged as a deliberate strategy to exploit minors for illicit activities.[1] Europol’s intelligence notification sheds light on this phenomenon – offering both a glimpse into the methods of criminal networks and a call for urgent action by law enforcement and policymakers. Recent data shows that minors as young as 13 are now active participants in nearly every criminal market, including drug trafficking, extortion, and even murder.[2] Anonymous platforms enable recruiters to disguise their activities as financial or social opportunities for vulnerable youth, while encrypted messaging and custom privacy settings allow the creation of channels untraceable by law enforcement. By employing coded language, slang, and influencer-style communication, recruiters create an ecosystem where criminal activities are framed as challenges or games, making them particularly enticing for younger audiences.

                On November 11, 2024, Eurojust announced its participation in a law enforcement operation, resulting in the indictment of thirty-eight persons and the seizure of 2,000 forged works of contemporary art.  The law enforcement takedown was the culmination of a one-and-one-half-year investigation by Italian authorities, working with Eurojust, Belgian, French, and Spanish counterparts.  The dismantling of the network prevented economic damage of € 200 million.[1]

                On August 28, 2024, two Dutch lawyers brought an action in the European Court of Justice to annul provisions of the European Union Anti-Money Laundering regulation as they apply to lawyers.[1]

                On October 30, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the sanctioning of 275 individuals and entities involved in furnishing Russia with advanced technology and equipment that Russia “desperately needs to support its war machine.”  The sanctions are directed at both individual actors and sanctions evasion networks across 17 jurisdictions, including India, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Switzerland, Thailand, and Türkiye. OFAC is also targeting domestic Russian importers and producers of key inputs and other materials for Russia’s military-industrial base.

                On October 15, 2024, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report that found that the majority of recovered firearms in the Caribbean were traced to the U.S. and trafficked through various means. The Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) traces the origin of firearms recovered in Caribbean countries at the request of Caribbean law enforcement agencies or ATF officials in the Caribbean.[1]

                On November 12, 2024, a jury in a U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, found a U.S. defense contractor liable for its participation in the torture of three Iraqi men at Abu Ghraib prison in 2003-2004 in the case of Al Shimari et al v. CACI.  The defendant, CACI, was ordered to pay each of the three plaintiffs $3 million in compensatory damages and $100 million in punitive damages, for a total of $42 million.[1]

                On November 19, 2024, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) launched its report, Under the Guns: Firearms Trafficking in Latin America and the Caribbean.[1]  The report points out that even though only eight percent of the world lives in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), the region has one-third of all homicides worldwide.  Arms trafficking is now more than a law enforcement challenge.  Transnational organized criminals (TCOs) use the proliferation of semi- and fully automatic rifles, grenade launchers, and various high-caliber weapons to endanger the sovereignty of various countries, most recently Haiti and Ecuador.[2] The report makes a number of recommendations for each of the regions.

                On November 6, 2024, INTERPOL announced that between September 29 to October 4, 2024, it conducted an operation leading to the rescue of 3,222 potential victims of human trafficking and identified 17,793 irregular migrants.  The operation was done with law enforcement authorities in 116 countries and territories.[1]  

               Even though only a few days have elapsed since the United States Presidential elections on November 5, 2024, important implications can be drawn from the results.

               On November 12, 2024, a former Miami banker pleaded guilty to his role in a bribery and money laundering scheme involving the former Comptroller General of Ecuador.