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🔥 NEW PODCAST EPISODE: The Investigator from Coercive Capital

The Man Who Took On Marcos, Saddam & Baby Doc Duvalier – And Won

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Trump pardons three co-founders of BitMex crypto exchange.  Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo and Samuel Reed previously pled guilty to a range of federal criminal charges related to money laundering and failure to police the exchange. CNBC

Charlie Javice Convicted of Defrauding JPMorgan Over Deal AP 

FBI Seizes $200,000 in Crypto From Hamas-Linked Wallets, Accounts CoinDesk

U.S. sanctions Hezbollah sanctions evasion team Bloomberg

Inside the Law Firm That Decided to Fight Back Against Trump’s Attack WSJ

Jenner & Block, WilmerHale sue over Trump orders targeting law firms Hill 

Russia and US discuss restarting Nord Stream pipelines Politico

Crypto Bill to Combat Illicit Activity Gets New Push After Passing U.S. House in 2024 CoinDesk

Iranian Oil Tankers Are Idling Off Malaysia With Millions of Barrels Stuck Regtechtimes

Mexico resort claims jailed Michigan couple ‘encouraged’ other guests to commit fraud amid timeshare dispute NYP

AG Bondi details arrest of top MS-13 leader who joined vicious gang in middle school Fox

Huawei corruption scandal: Police search European Parliament Strasbourg offices Politico 

After years of survival, China’s Huawei returns to revenue peak Reuters

AI is making it easier to commit financial crimes, so the IRS is overhauling its tech after finding $21B in fraud AP

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🚩 RUSSIA & CHINA

Putin Tests How Far Trump Will Go Against Europe on Sanctions Bloomberg

European leaders say now not the time to lift sanctions on Russia in clear message to Trump Politico

Russia remands billionaire Moshkovich in custody for two months Reuters

BlackRock sells Shanghai tower at 34% discount as it pulls back from China property SCMP

SiCarrier says its tools can help China make advanced chips Reuters

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💸 CORRUPTION & FINANCIAL CRIME

Trump pardons founder of electric vehicle start-up Nikola, Trevor Milton AP

Morgan Stanley financial adviser sentenced for multi-million dollar fraud NBC

NY AG files $200M settlement with Galaxy Digital over LUNA Axios

‘Flying Lady’ owner gets 5 years for fraud involving Chicago party yacht with stripper pole Chicago Tribune

Cyprus says it will adopt FBI guidance on tackling financial crime and sanctions evasion Euro News 

Whisky barrel scam cons victims out of life savings BBC

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🔐 CRYPTO & CYBER

SEC Officially Drops Cases Against Kraken, ConsenSys, and Cumberland DRW Decrypt

“Cops, AI, drug companies”: Who wants to buy your DNA from 23andme? Salon

Lazarus Group’s 2024 pause was repositioning for $1.4B Bybit hack Cointelegraph 

Oracle Health breach compromises patient data at US hospitals Bleepingcomputer

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🚚 TRAFFICKING 

New regulation on money transfers will likely impact San Diego border region PBS

Trump asks Supreme Court for permission to resume deporting Venezuelan migrants under wartime law AP 

‘Migrant influencer’ who urged other illegals to squat in US homes deported to Venezuela NYP

ILLICIT EDGE PODCASTS

🎙 Designated with Yaya Jata Fanusie️

• The Financial Intelligence Enforcer With John Cassara
• Defending The Whistleblower With Phil Brewster
• How to Outfox a Money Launderer With Lourdes Miranda
• Mapping Illicit Business Networks With Varun Vira
• Sanctions Warfare in the Next Administration With Juan Zarate
• The TD Bank Disaster and How to Fix It With Jim Richards
• Special Agent on “The Silk Road” with Jared Der-Yeghiayan
• Uncovering “Pig Butchering” with Erin West
• Bring Tigran Home: An American Unjustly Detained in Nigeria – Part 2
• Bring Tigran Home: An American Unjustly Detained in Nigeria – Part 1

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🎙 Coercive Capital with Elaine Dezenski

• Confronting Kleptocracy With Zoe Reiter
• Identity Is Everything With Amit Sharma
• The State and Sanctions With Cari Stinebower
• Corporate America’s China Challenge With Isaac Stone Fish 
• Department of Defense Supply Chain Economics With Wes Spurlock and David Rader 
• The Corruption Continuum With Scott Greytak & Casey Michel 
• Networks that Fuel the Fentanyl Crisis with Ray Donovan 
• Economic Security Matters Featuring Juan Zarate

VIDEOS

INFLUENCERS

Kim Zetter / Brian Krebs / Nicole Perlroth /
Josh Rogin / Ellen Nakashima / Matt Levitt /
Clarissa Ward / Gary Kasparov / Joseph Cox / Mark Dubowitz
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya / Bill Browder / Jen Easterly /
Zack Kopplin / Laura Shin / Dmitri Alperovitch / Tom Keatinge
Catherine Belton / Nazanin Boniadi / Chris Krebs /
Kevin Hall / Farnaz Fassihi / Kevin Collier / Patrick Howell O’Neill /
Michael McFaul / Jonathan Schanzer / Catalin Cimpanu /
Liza Lin / Enes Kanter FREEDOM / Bianna Golodryga

RESOURCES

Financial Action Task Force /
Egmont Group /
Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project /
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists /
Money Laundering Watch/
C4ADS /
Combating Terrorism Center /
Royal United Services Institute /

IN OTHER NEWS

Nearly $13 million stolen from Abracadabra Finance in crypto heist.  The crypto lending platform said the issue was sourced back to a product it calls “cauldrons” — isolated lending markets that allow users to borrow against a variety of cryptocurrencies. Record

Bessent opens door to Russian return to major international banking system Politico

There’s a right way to lift sanctions on Russia. Follow these Dos and Don’ts. Atlantic Council

The March Massacres Show That Syria Urgently Needs Solutions, Not Sanctions WOTR

U.S. gave Syria list of conditions for partial sanctions relief Reuters

Western Banks Sent Billions in Cash to Russia on Eve of Ukraine Invasion OCCRP

US adds Chinese tech firms to its export control list AP

Trump Takes Tough Approach to Choking Off China’s Access to U.S. Tech WSJ

Senate likely to send repeal of IRS DeFi broker rule to White House Axios

As Trump offers new nuclear talks, Iran weighs the cost of losing its final leverage CNN

U.S. Files Civil Forfeiture Complaint for $47M from Sale of 1M Barrels of Iranian Oil DOJ

Russian Explosive Makers Use Fertilizer Firms to Blunt Sanctions Bloomberg

U.S. slaps Iran-related sanctions on oil tankers, China ‘teapot’ refinery.  China and Iran have built a trading system that uses mostly Chinese yuan and a network of middlemen, avoiding the dollar and exposure to U.S. regulators. Reuters

💸 Illicit Edge Originals: Sanctions & Economic Security with Juan Zarate Coercive Capital 

Using Drones for Peeping, Burglaries On Rise: “It’s Gotten Dramatically Worse” Hollywood Reporter 

Huge Ecosystem of Unregulated Payment Providers Helps Scammers Collect Victims’ Money OCCRP 

💸 Illicit Edge Originals: Pig Butchering Uncovered with Erin West DESIGNATED

FinCEN Removes Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements for U.S. Companies and U.S. Persons, Sets New Deadlines for Foreign Companies FinCEN

Trump Has a China Trade War Weapon He Hasn’t Picked Up WSJ

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🚩 RUSSIA & CHINA

U.S. Agrees to Help Russia Boost Exports in Ukraine Talks WSJ

Russia says sanctions must be lifted before Ukraine maritime ceasefire can start BBC

EU says ‘unconditional withdrawal’ of Russia from Ukraine is a precondition to amend sanctions Reuters

How Elon Musk’s SpaceX Secretly Allows Investment From China ProPublica

China frees staff of US consultancy firm after two years BBC

Leaked data exposes a Chinese AI censorship machine TC

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💸 CORRUPTION & FINANCIAL CRIME

Brazil’s Bolsonaro to stand trial on coup charges BBC

Ex-Giants running back ran massive dog-fighting operation NYP

Social Security Administration delays and curtails new anti-fraud policy CNN

12 members of an Irish high-risk criminal network arrested Europol

What lies beneath: Germany’s hidden organized corruption threat Global Initiative

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🔐 CRYPTO & CYBER

DOGE staffer ‘Big Balls’ provided tech support to cybercrime ring Reuters

Trump-Tied World Liberty Financial Pitches Its Stablecoin in Washington With Don Jr. CoinDesk

Crypto Giants Seek Congressional Clarity on U.S. Money Transmitter Rules Decrypt

Chinese ‘FamousSparrow’ hackers back from the dead and targeting North America Record

Polymarket Suffers UMA Governance Attack After Rogue Actor Becomes Top-5 Token Staker CoinDesk

SEC drops investigation into Australian crypto firm Immutable Block

New York’s cyber chief on keeping cities and states safe from cyberattacks Record

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🚚 TRAFFICKING

Libya Arrests 4 Human Trafficking Suspects Believed to Have Tortured and Killed Migrants OCCRP

Kristi Noem tours El Salvador’s hell-hole CECOT prison ahead of negotiations for more gangbanger deportation flights NYP 

South Korea’s truth commission says government responsible for fraud and abuse in foreign adoptions AP

COMPLIANCE TOOLBOX

How a top Chinese AI model overcame US sanctions MIT

Taskforce on Public-Private Partnership in Fighting Financial Crime in Ukraine RUSI

The Digital Asset Ecosystem in El Salvador: Challenges and Risks to Countercheck Financial Global Financial Integrity

Money Laundering from Environmental Crime: Typologies and Trends in Countries in the Amazon Region Fact Coalition

INTERPOL Financial Fraud assessment: A global threat boosted by technology Interpol

Sanctions by the Numbers: Comparing the Trump and Biden Administrations’ Sanctions and Export Controls on China CNAS

The threats posed by the global shadow fleet—and how to stop it Atlantic Council