Newsletter HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #105 In Nigeria, a tax law requires providers of digital assets to monitor transactions, collect personal information, and link payments to biometric national ID systems.
Newsletter Jan 15, 2026 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #104 We begin this week in Iran, where currency collapse has turned into a call for political change.
Newsletter Dec 25, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #103 We begin this week with a stark case of transnational financial repression. Russian dissident and financial director of Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF), Anna Chekhovich, reports that her US bank accounts were temporarily shut down after the Kremlin labeled her an “extremist.”
Newsletter Dec 18, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #102 Last week, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, an international recognition of her decades-long efforts for democracy, human dignity, and free elections in Venezuela.
Newsletter Dec 11, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #101 In India, financial officials confirmed that the digital rupee, the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), is now live and complete with spending controls.
Newsletter Nov 27, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #100 One hundred weeks ago, we set out to document how authoritarian regimes manipulate money and employ financial repression to restrict civil liberties, silence dissent, and undermine human rights – and how individuals are resisting with open-source software.
Newsletter Nov 27, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #99 Today, we reflect on the financial repression so many face around the world, and how brave and creative minds are pushing back.
Newsletter Nov 20, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #98 In Indonesia, the government introduced a bill to redenominate the rupiah currency following a sharp decline in purchasing power.
Newsletter Nov 13, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #97 The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has raised alarm over an escalating crisis for press freedom in Pakistan, where local journalists and media workers are being financially targeted.
Newsletter Nov 6, 2025 Financial Freedom Report #96 In Cuba, independent media outlet El Toque is again under pressure for publishing data on the informal exchange rates for the Cuban peso. The tool tracks the growing…
Newsletter Oct 30, 2025 Financial Freedom Report #95 Russia’s Ministry of Finance has proposed granting dictator Vladimir Putin sweeping powers to restrict foreign currency transactions, including limits on individual dollar…
Newsletter Oct 23, 2025 Financial Freedom Report #94 In Venezuela, opposition leader María Corina Machado received the Nobel Peace Prize for her steadfast defense of democracy and freedom. Despite persecution from Nicolás Maduro’s dictatorship…
Newsletter Oct 9, 2025 Financial Freedom Report #93 In China, the central bank has opened a new international operations center for the digital yuan in Shanghai to expand the central bank digital currencies’ (CBDCs) role in global finance
Newsletter Oct 2, 2025 Financial Freedom Report #92 In North Korea, the totalitarian regime launched its first automated banking hotline to support account inquiries as it pushes away from cash and towards…
Newsletter Sep 25, 2025 Financial Freedom Report #91 In Vietnam, the central bank deactivated more than 86 million bank accounts on Sept. 1, erasing nearly half the country’s financial accounts. The move is part of a national push for mandatory biometric ID, framed by…
Newsletter Sep 18, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #90 In Thailand, the central bank froze more than 3 million Thai bank accounts and imposed daily transfer limits in a bid to reduce online scams. The heavy-handed approach offers a glimpse into how broad state financial measures can unintentionally lead…
Newsletter Sep 11, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #89 In Russia, the Kremlin is increasing efforts to push citizens onto its new state-run messenger app, Max. Voice calls on WhatsApp and Telegram have been disabled, and new legislation requires all new phones to come with Max pre-installed. But the…
Newsletter Sep 4, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #88 In Georgia, a Tbilisi court froze the bank accounts of seven major Georgian NGOs, accusing them of “sabotage” and “financing” protests under charges made possible by the country’s recently enacted…
Newsletter Aug 28, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #87 In Russia, Vladimir Putin signed a new law allowing police to freeze citizens’ bank accounts for up to 10 days without a court order. While framed as an anti-fraud measure, the law gives police a fast and…
Newsletter Aug 21, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #86 In Cuba, the peso’s parallel market rate increased to 400 pesos per US dollar, a record low reflecting a 94% devaluation in just a few years. High inflation, stagnant wages
