When we think of the mafia, we often picture violent gangs engaged in drug smuggling, arms trafficking, illicit alcohol and tobacco trades, contract killings, prostitution rings, robberies, illegal gambling, car theft, and extortion. Yet this is only a fraction of the "specializations" pursued by mafia groups around the globe—each with...
House approves $832 billion Defense funding bill
The House early approved legislation early Friday allocating roughly $832 billion in funding for defense programs for fiscal 2026, just weeks after Republicans approved a separate $150 billion plan to advance President Trump’s defense priorities. The GOP-led chamber approved the bill 221-209, mostly along party lines; five Democrats voted in...
Cyprus Front: How “Golden Passports” Continue to Feed Corrupt Elites
It is no secret that numerous countries worldwide offer citizenship or at least a pathway to citizenship in exchange for financial contributions positioned as investments in the economic development of the respective state. Despite the substantial sums involved—often reaching millions—there is no shortage of individuals seeking to obtain the coveted...
Europe Is Building a New Security Architecture Without the U.S.
Two key initiatives support this claim: the groundbreaking agreement between France and the United Kingdom to coordinate nuclear deterrence, and the establishment of a multinational operations headquarters for a 32-country coalition in support of Ukraine. These steps mark a fundamental shift toward strategic autonomy for Europe, as the continent increasingly...
China deploys former dissidents as spies to infiltrate overseas activist groups, as authorities struggle to maintain control
Jian took notes as Khenpo Sonam Tenphel, speaker for the Tibetan parliament-in-exile, met with pro-democracy activists in 2017 in Dharamshala, India, and discussed China’s repressive policies against the Tibetan minority. A naturalized German, Guo, then 36, wearing glasses and a traditional white khata scarf, his hair in a buzz cut,...
Attack from the Shadows: How Russia Wages War in Cyberspace.
This week ended with several European countries announcing that Russia had either carried out or attempted to carry out hacker attacks on critical EU state infrastructure. The statement from the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, on July 18, 2025, sounded the alarm: Russia is systematically attacking Europe—across...
Corruption and governance risks threaten a just energy transition
A landmark report has thrown light on corruption and governance risks facing the renewables sector. It urges industry-led collective action to develop effective safeguards and ensure a just energy transition for all. In a Working Paper published by the Basel Institute on Governance, Maja de Vibe of Statkraft and Mark...
The war on European financial fraud: €4.5 billion recovered between 2022 and 2024
Research, Recovery, and Reassessment: The Three “R” Technique in the Fight Against Corruption. With press release no. 16/2025 dated June 16, 2025, OLAF (Office européen de lutte antifraude – the European Anti-Fraud Office) announced the publication, via its official channels, of the annual report detailing its investigative activity for 2024....
The Energy Weapon
Russia has a long history of using its control over European energy supplies to achieve political aims, and this “energy weapon” has become famous as a blunt instrument. According to the dominant image of Russia’s energy diplomacy, if states diverge from Russian foreign policy aims, the gas will be cut...
Risk of growing corruption within the EU
A report from researchers at the University of Gothenburg, among other places, identifies six high-risk areas where corruption threatens to have far-reaching and system-threatening consequences within the EU. One of these areas is the public procurement sector, which accounts for 14 percent of the EU’s GDP. According to the European...