| "This would lead to victims being revictimized by their own government," said attorney Daniel Thornburgh, one of several who say the government is not providing a viable path for returning seized funds to their rightful owners. The Department of Justice declined to comment and has given little indication of what it plans to do with the 127,271 seized bitcoins, currently worth around $9 billion. But ICIJ's Coin Laundry investigation found cryptocurrency scam victims face immense difficulty recovering funds due to the rapidly expanding illicit crypto economy. In interviews, dozens of victims told ICIJ and its media partners that they faced financial ruin as criminals rapidly laundered their stolen funds through secretive crypto wallets. In many cases, reports to law enforcement yielded no response at all. Now, advocates are calling for a special victim fund to take over responsibility for the seized assets. Read more here.
PANAMA PAPERS AT 10
A decade after ICIJ's investigation blew open the hidden offshore financial system, join ICIJ Executive Director Gerard Ryle and international tax justice expert Tove Maria Ryding for a conversation March 31 about how the investigation unfolded, the reforms it triggered and why the struggle for transparency is far from over.
THE MODERN MONEY TRAIL: A LIVE EVENT
Join us on March 26 for an exclusive webinar on the methodologies behind the The Coin Laundry investigation, featuring data experts from OpenCorporates and ICIJ reporters and editors.
ITALY EXPELS CHINESE SPIES
The Interior Ministry issued expulsion orders for eight Chinese nationals suspected of spying on political dissidents on behalf of the Chinese government. Physical and online surveillance of dissidents is one of the many tactics adopted by the Chinese government against regime critics living overseas, ICIJ's 2025 China Targets investigation found.
CHELSEA FC FINED MILLIONS FOR PAYMENTS
The Premier League fined the club 10.75 million pounds (about $14 million), along with other penalties, over breaches of financial rules during Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich's ownership. ICIJ's partners, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and The Guardian, revealed the secret payments as part of ICJ's Cyprus Confidential investigation.
HUMAN RIGHTS COURT SLAMS WEAPONS TRAFFICKING
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights urged governments to take stronger measures to stop arms trafficking and allow legal remedies for their harms. Mexico is pressuring the U.S. to stop the illegal flow of guns across its borders after an ICIJ/The New York Times investigation revealed that cartels have used ammunition made at a U.S. Army-owned facility.
CANADA REVOKES CRYPTO FIRMS' REGISTRATIONS
Anti-money laundering authorities in Canada revoked registrations of nearly three dozen cryptocurrency businesses following Coin Laundry revelations by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and The Toronto Star.
Thanks for reading!
Carmen Molina Acosta
ICIJ's digital editor
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