May 24 - Palma de Mallorca, Spain - A Spanish judge on Friday instructed the country's internal revenue agency to launch an investigation into alleged tax irregularities by Princess Cristina, King Juan Carlos I's youngest daughter.... In a judicial writ Friday, the judge instructed the Spanish Tax Office to examine several returns filed by the princess and determine any possible role Cristina may have had in "alleged tax irregularities and money laundering."

May 24 - Guatemala City - Ex-Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo was extradited on Friday to the United States to face charges of laundering $70 million in Guatemalan funds through U.S. bank accounts. The former president was taken from a military hospital where he was recovering from liver surgery and a heart condition and put on a plane, according to his lawyer Mauricio Berreondo. He said the plane was bound for New York after a stop in Miami.

May 23 - New York - HSBC's controversial $1.9bn (£1.6bn) settlement deal with the US authorities over money laundering charges has stalled after a row between the justice department and the judge overseeing the case. The deal – known as a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) – meant HSBC was exempt from prosecution and triggered a storm of criticism. Judge John Gleeson is now believed to be considering rejecting the deal, a move that could leave HSBC facing a criminal prosecution and the threat that its charter to do business in the US could be revoked.