BERN, Switzerland - Switzerland's financial markets watchdog says it investigated 22 breaches of money laundering requirements last year, from nine in 2015, as the Alpine country seeks to combat the growing risk of corruption linked to assets from around the world. The authority, FINMA, said Tuesday that "serious shortcomings" came to light in 2016, including major cases involving the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, 1MDB, and Brazilian oil company Petrobras. At year-end, FINMA had [Read more]

BAGHDAD - Iraq's oil minister said on Sunday that his country plans to increase daily crude oil production to 5 million barrels by the end of this year, up from the current rate of about 4.4 million barrels per day, to secure sorely needed cash for its ailing economy. Iraq, where oil revenues make up nearly 95 per cent of the budget, has been reeling under an economic crisis since 2014, when oil prices began their descent from a high of above $100 a barrel. The Islamic State group's [Read more]

BISMARCK, N.D. - A December oil pipeline spill in western North Dakota might have been three times larger than first estimated and among the biggest in state history, a state environmental expert said Friday. About 530,000 gallons of oil is now believed to have spilled from the Belle Fourche Pipeline that was likely ruptured by a slumping hillside about 16 miles northwest of Belfield in Billings County, Health Department environmental scientist Bill Seuss said. The earlier estimate was [Read more]

WASHINGTON - American Indians and their supporters are rallying in Washington against continued construction of the disputed Dakota Access pipeline. A federal judge this week declined to halt construction of the final section of the $3.8 billion pipeline, meaning oil could begin flowing through it as early as next week. The Standing Rock Sioux and other tribes have tried to stop the pipeline, saying it threatens their sovereignty, religious rights and water supply. The final, [Read more]