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Unregulated Crypto Is an Invitation for Criminals. Cryptocurrencies and blockchain products have brought efficiencies and advances to payments systems, but it would be a mistake to tout such benefits while glossing over crypto’s dark side. Wall Street Journal
Pulling back the curtain on Nicolás Maduro’s ‘Latin Lady Macbeth’ wife Cilia Flores — a ‘fundamental figure in corruption’ New York Post
MacKenzie Scott Sends Millions to Terror-Tied Nonprofit Network Free Beacon
Second front: How a socialist cell in the US mobilized pro-Maduro foot soldiers within 12 hours Fox News
US is making plans to intercept Venezuela-linked oil tanker that Russia has claimed jurisdiction over CNN
Someone made a huge profit predicting Maduro’s capture. Here’s what happened. Axios
The Burn and the Choke: Why Semiconductor Controls Will Outlast China’s Rare Earth Weapon War on the Rocks
Chinese cyberattacks on Taiwan infrastructure averaged 2.6M a day in 2025 Reuters
Crypto Wallet Maker Ledger Confirms Data Breach on Global-e Platform Decrypt
Elite Portuguese investigative unit to probe Spacey movie producer with ties to alleged crypto scammer ICIJ
‘Prime targets’: The punters ‘washing’ tens of millions and the bosses in the firing line Sydney Morning Herald
Trump to freeze billions in childcare funding in five states Axios
AI Deepfakes Are Impersonating Pastors to Try to Scam Their Congregations Wired
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Time to Stir the AML Pot FinCrime Unfiltered
Human Intelligence in Conflict Zones Coercive Capital
WISE and Monzo Penalties, and FinCEN Special Measures FinCrime Unfiltered
Tehran’s Tightrope: The Cost of Confrontation Coercive Capital
Turkey’s extensive ties with Venezuela bolstered Maduro’s regime despite sanctions and criminal activity Long War Journal
Justice Dept. Drops Claim That Venezuela’s ‘Cartel de los Soles’ Is an Actual Group New York Times
U.S. could gain massive bitcoin stash if Venezuela’s $60 billion reserve rumors are true CoinDesk
Why Sanctions, Not Reserves, Will Decide Venezuela’s Oil Future Forbes
Federal Council freezes any assets held in Switzerland by Nicolás Maduro Swiss Federal Administration
Russia has used its only icebreaker to bypass US sanctions on liquefied gas exports Bloomberg
More issuers turn to Dubai listings as yuan bonds gain traction in the Middle East SCMP
Dutch court to hear arguments on Nexperia investigation on January 14 Reuters
China continued hunt for corrupt ‘tigers’ snares State Council veteran SCMP
Sanctioned Chen Zhi’s Hong Kong firms rocked by resignations and frozen assets SCMP
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2025 was a terrible year for the ‘Four Families’ accused of running global cyber scam operations CNN
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz ends reelection bid amid welfare fraud scandal CNN
Founder of Indonesian ride-hailing app Gojek stands trial over procurement of school laptops AP
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott orders child care fraud probe after Minnesota scandal raises national alarms CBS
Judge spares Tennessee lawmaker prison time in corruption case where Trump pardoned ex-speaker, aide AP
S.F. accused a nonprofit of corruption and lost. Now the city is appealing. San Francisco Chronicle
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Bitfinex hacker Ilya Lichtenstein credits Trump for early release from prison TechCrunch
Did DOJ Prosecutors Violate Trump’s Executive Order by Selling the Forfeited Samourai Wallet Bitcoin? Bitcoin Magazine
Stablecoin Banking Startup Kontigo to Repay Customers After Hack Bloomberg
US broadband provider Brightspeed investigates breach claims BleepingComputer
Luminar claims founder Austin Russell is dodging a subpoena in the bankruptcy case TechCrunch
The nation’s strictest privacy law just took effect, to data brokers’ chagrin Ars Technica
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Inside the glamorous life of Daniel Kinahan, Europe’s top cocaine kingpin Daily Mail
2,000 federal agents deploying to Minneapolis in immigration crackdown, fraud probe CBS
How demand for elite falcons in the Middle East is driving illegal trade of British birds Guardian
Sarah Beth Felix / Elaine Dezenski / Yaya J. Fanusie / Himamauli Das / Jim Richards / John Byrne / Tom Keatinge / Ari Redbord / Brian Krebs / Hagar Chemali / Joe Robinson / Christina Rea / Andy Greenberg / Moyara Ruehsen / Richard Weber / Erin West / Casey Michel / Varun Vira / Amit Sharma / Ken Rijock / Andrew King / Shlomit Wagman / Archana Bae / Crystal Noe / Jonathan Schanzer / Howard Spieler
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 /
Reputed Mexican Mafia ‘shot caller’ wins California Supreme Court fight over fines and fees. In 2019 he was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison and ordered to pay a $10,000 restitution fine to the state’s victim compensation fund — money he told the court he didn’t have. Los Angeles Times
How China is upgrading its digital yuan for the stablecoin era SCMP
Mile-high crime club: theft syndicates target Asia’s airlines SCMP
Trump Administration Upends Prosecution of White-Collar Crime WSJ
📘 Expert Opinion: Strengthening The Gatekeepers – A New Era in AML Strategy (Archana Bae & Anne Walton)
Behind Oklahoma Cannabis Farms, New Yorkers With Ties to Beijing NYT
U.S. approves Samsung, SK Hynix chipmaking tool shipments to China for 2026 CNBC
Treasury removes sanctions for three executives tied to spyware maker Intellexa The Record
Minn. Somali-run day care bizarrely reports their documents were stolen in mysterious break-in — but cops tell a different story NYP
Trump using fraud law to target major companies on DEI USA Today
Scammers notched $333M from bitcoin ATM scams in 2025 ABC
Can a Corporation Be Complicit in War Crimes? Sweden Is Trying to Find Out. NYT
Two Americans Plead Guilty to Targeting Multiple U.S. Victims Using ALPHV BlackCat Ransomware DOJ
From Venezuela to Spain and Miami: An entrepreneur’s path into global crime Miami Herald
How Doctors Without Borders Became a Political Actor in Gaza Quillette
A Shrimper, a Carmaker, a Lawyer: How the World Tackled Trump’s Trade War WSJ
Delaying the Effective Date of the AML/CFT and SAR Requirements for Registered Investment Advisers and Exempt Reporting Advisers FinCEN
Fraud tourists” traveled to Minnesota after a friend told them state programs were “a good opportunity to make money” CBS News
ICE Arrests Worst of Worst Criminal Illegal Aliens DHS
Can This Man Finally Defeat Mexico’s Cartels? NYT
Chinese Oil Tankers Challenge US Blockade off Venezuela Newsweek
Why Chevron still operates in Venezuela despite US sanctions Euronews
U.S. sanctions Iranian, Venezuelan groups tied to weapons trade CNBC
Iran offers to sell advanced weapons systems for crypto The Street
Texas man accused of trying to support ISIS ordered held pending trial ABC
The Dutch Seized A Chinese Chipmaker. Supply Chain Chaos Has Just Begun. Forbes
Russian billionaire Potanin acquires minority stake in cloud provider Selectel Reuters
Citigroup Approves Sale of Russian Operations, Flagging $1.2B Loss Moscow Times
German prosecutors will drop investigation of Russian magnate Usmanov upon payment of $11M fine AP
Oil tanker pursued by US now has a Russian flag painted on its side CNN
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Thieves drill into a German bank vault and steal tens of millions of euros worth of property AP
$5B in ‘questionable’ rental assistance under Biden revealed — including to thousands of ‘deceased tenants’ and non-citizens NYP
HHS freezing child care payments to all states after Minnesota fraud allegations ABC
Feeding Our Future founder Aimee Bock ordered to forfeit $5.2 million CBS
He Is Being Sued in the U.S. for Human Rights Abuses. He Could be Deported First. NYT
Motorcycles worth $40M seized from FBI most-wanted Olympic snowboarder BBC
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A scammer’s guide: How cybercriminals plot to rob a target in a week Reuters
TRM Traces Stolen Crypto from 2022 LastPass Breach TRM Labs
Former Coinbase support agent arrested for helping hackers BleepingComputer
The Year in Bitcoin and Crypto ATMs 2025: Power Tools, Scams and Calls for Action Decrypt
Unleash hacker begins laundering $4 million in ETH through Tornado Cash The Block
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US military says at least eight killed in new strikes on alleged drug boats CNN
CBP seizes 935 pounds of cocaine concealed in cargo trailer chassis in San Juan U.S. CBP
1 percent tax on remittances from US takes effect in 2026 Border Report
Sinaloa Cartel war is taking its toll on Los Chapitos El País
Drug gangs pose grave threat to European security Financial Times
Do Export Controls Erode the United States’ Lead—Or Protect It? CSIS
Three Years of War in Ukraine: Are Sanctions Against Russia Making a Difference? CFR
Why does the U.S. use secondary sanctions, and do they work? DW
Teaching the Business and Art of Sanctions Circumvention RUSI
Understanding the Libra Case: Identifying Red Flags in The Crypto Assets Industry GFI
The next generation: Russia’s future rulers Atlantic Council
How overly aggressive bans on AI chip exports to China can backfire Brookings
