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China accuses U.S. of stealing $13 billion bitcoin hack.  The theft of over 120,000 bitcoin from the LuBian Bitcoin mining pool in December 2020 is considered one of the largest crypto heists in history. Bloomberg

Pakistan Taliban claim responsibility for deadly terror attack in Islamabad Guardian 

Italian companies operating in Russia funnel €1 billion in taxes to the Kremlin war machine Euro News

Meet the American Educational Organization Accrediting CCP Bureaucrats Free Beacon

America’s Chip Restrictions Are Biting in China WSJ

Where’s Putin? How The Kremlin Hides His Location With Three Nearly Identical Offices RFE

China Hatches Plan to Keep U.S. Military From Getting Its Rare-Earth Magnets WSJ

Russia Loses Latin America’s Biggest Diesel Buyer as Brazil Cuts Imports United24

Cryptoqueen who fled China for London mansion jailed over £5bn Bitcoin stash BBC

Thieves steal Roman statues from Syria’s national museum AP

EU considers law to phase out Huawei and ZTE equipment from bloc’s telecom networks TechCrunch

6 killed in U.S. strikes on 2 more alleged drug boats in eastern Pacific NBC

Colombia to suspend intelligence cooperation with U.S. over strikes on drug vessels AP

Iran Smuggling Advanced Weaponry to Growing Terrorist Proxy Network in West Bank Free Beacon

🎙ILLICIT EDGE PODCASTS

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

🚩 RUSSIA & CHINA

China hopes Germany can urge Dutch government to revoke Nexperia seizure Reuters

Russian assets impasse faces obstacles beyond Belgium Politico

Serbia’s energy reliance on Russia comes unstuck facing US oil sanctions BBC

World’s biggest mining project begins operations in Guinea Semafor

Tokyo protests Russia’s wider entry ban over Ukraine sanctions Reuters

💸 CORRUPTION & FINANCIAL CRIME

Chinese state-linked gangs ‘using students to launder money in UK’ The Times

Jailed Moldovan Oligarch Hid Behind a Global Maze of Fake Identities OCCRP

Corruption investigation into former Zelenskyy associate shakes Ukraine ABC

Istanbul’s jailed mayor Imamoglu faces 142 criminal charges in corruption probe AP

🔐 CRYPTO & CYBER

Silver lining in sprawling scam case is cross-border cooperation SCMP

CISA’s expiration leaves a dangerous void in US cyber collaboration Cyberscoop

Voice phishing is AI fraud in real time FT

ClickFix may be the biggest security threat your family has never heard of Ars

🚚 TRAFFICKING 

Nigeria teams up with US and UK to investigate cocaine haul DW

Federal THC ban send hemp companies scrambling Hill

14 current or ex-Mississippi law enforcement officers plead not guilty in drug-trafficking scheme AP

 


 

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🎙 FinCrime Unfiltered with Sarah Beth Felix
🎙 Designated with Yaya Jata Fanusie
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INFLUENCERS

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 BaeCrystal Noe / Jonathan Schanzer / Howard Spieler

 


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

Ukraine’s anti-graft agency alleges $100 million energy kickback scheme.  Anti-corruption agency says state nuclear power operator Energoatom taking illicit payments of 10-15%. Guardian

Cotton Presses DOJ to Investigate Code Pink’s Terror, CCP Ties Free Beacon

Mexico to send more troops and money to Michoacan after mayor’s killing AP

Iran smuggled $1B to Hezbollah this year despite US sanctions Fox

Publication of Tri-Seal Advisory: Sanctions and Export Controls Relief for Syria U.S. Treasury

Lebanon vows crackdown on illicit finance after US sanctions Hezbollah members AFP

The Lavish Lifestyle of a Chinese Agent Gets a Spotlight in Trial WSJ

Convicted crypto felon behind $500M scam found butchered alongside wife in desert DL News

Russian oil firm’s multibillion-dollar assets overseas at risk as US sanctions begin to bite CNN

Hack impacting Jaguar Land Rover was so bad that it hurt the U.K.’s GDP NBC

Nord Stream suspect accuses Italy of pressure to confess BBC

Spanish crypto influencer CryptoSpain detained on $300 million fraud, money laundering charges Block

China’s chemical exports are behind a ‘tsunami’ of meth flooding Asia Washington Post

Colombia President Petro floats union with Venezuela amid U.S. military buildup Miami Herald

Central Bank of Ireland fines Coinbase $25 million for breaching anti-money laundering monitoring obligations. The bank said more than 30 million transactions, valued at over $202B, were not properly monitored and led to 2,708 late suspicious transaction reports. Block

Battered by Yet Another Typhoon, Philippine People Blame Corruption for Mounting Death Toll Time

U.S. sanctions Hezbollah financial operatives for laundering money from Iran U.S. Treasury

German Regulator Hands $52 Million Fine to JP Morgan WSJ

U.S. arrests 5 at Germany’s request in probe of online fraud involving payment providers Reuters

👉 2025 Crypto Adoption and Stablecoin Usage Report TRM Labs

University of Pennsylvania confirms recent cyberattack led to major data theft Tech Radar

Chipmaker Nexperia said it halted China shipments on payment refusal Euro News

Fiber Laser Expert Convicted of Economic Espionage and Theft of Trade Secrets DOJ

U.S. prosecutors seek five-year prison terms for Samourai Wallet founders Block

Singapore caning of scammers marks distinction between ‘moral betrayal SCMP

UK seizes Jurassic dinosaur fossils worth £12M from Chinese money laundering suspect Independent

Three more men charged in connection with Halloween terror plot investigation NBC

China suspends sanctions on US-linked units of S. Korea’s Hanwha Ocean Reuters

Lukoil declares force majeure in Iraq over US sanctions, sources say Reuters

Bulgaria moves to prevent shutdown of its only oil refinery ahead of US sanctions AP

US sanctions on Russia will not work unless Trump steps up enforcement FT

🚩 RUSSIA & CHINA

‘Loophole’ in sanctions allowing Russian oil to be imported to Australia through port part-owned by Macquarie Bank Guardian

How the US overtook China as Africa’s biggest foreign investor BBC

Thailand court orders extradition to China of alleged online gambling kingpin AP

Farmers feel betrayed as China dangles millions of tons of soybean purchases over the U.S. to get an edge in the escalating trade war Fortune

EU, China created special channel to ensure rare earth supplies Reuters

Western sanctions force Russians to turn to domestic wines Reuters

Russian Military Officer Jailed 10 Years for Bribery in Defense Procurement Moscow Times

Three Chinese National scholars from University of Michigan laboratory charged for conspiring to smuggle biological materials into the U.S. DOJ

💸 CORRUPTION & FINANCIAL CRIME

Crime watchdog FATF to visit Turkey after ‘grey list’ exit Reuters

MLB pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz charged with taking bribes to rig pitches for bettors AP

Former Glencore traders plead ‘not guilty’ to West Africa corruption charges Reuters

He Was Known for Kleptocratic Rule and Bloodshed. Now He’s a National Hero. NYT

Former Argentine President, Nearly 90 Others, Go On Trial In Major Corruption Case OCCRP

Multi-home seizure related to Chinese money laundering scheme, Mexican cartel ABC

Belgian Authorities Charge Ex-EU Justice Chief for Money Laundering OCCRP

🔐 CRYPTO & CYBER

Crypto hacks surge, fueling record demand for offline wallets like Ledger Seeking Alpha

Russian hacker to plead guilty to aiding Yanluowang ransomware group Record

Argentina’s Libra Meme Coin Case Takes a Turn With Frozen Funds, Payments Probe Decrypt

Commercial spyware “Landfall” ran rampant on Samsung phones for almost a year Ars

🚚 TRAFFICKING 

China says it’s cracking down on fentanyl trade to US after Trump deal NYP

Thousands of Chinese lured abroad and forced to be scammers – now Beijing is cracking down BBC

Illegal immigrants allegedly offered WhatsApp ‘menu’ of women for sex trafficking ring Fox

 


COMPLIANCE TOOLBOX

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

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