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White House debates lifting sanctions on Russian energy assets, Nord Stream. Lifting the sanctions currently in place on one of Russia’s main pipelines connecting its natural gas fields to western Europe would be a sharp reversal in the U.S. policy first put in place during President Trump’s first term. Politico
Brussels rejects Russian recognition of Crimea and sanctions relief Euro News
Trump Crypto Coin Buyers Offered VIP Tour of White House Mother Jones
U.S. Offers Iran Civilian Nuclear Program in Possible Compromise With Tehran WSJ
Iran Quietly Builds Security Perimeter Around Suspected New Uranium Enrichment Site Free Beacon
PGI Global Founder Hit With Fraud Charges in $200M Crypto Ponzi Scheme CoinDesk
DOJ unseals 1st terrorism case against alleged Tren de Aragua member ABC
Bad News for China: Rare Earth Elements Aren’t That Rare Wired
China asks Korea not to supply rare earth goods to U.S. defense firms Reuters
Brazilian police probe a pension fraud scheme that stole $1B from retirees AP
Prominent short seller Andrew Left fails to end US SEC fraud case Reuters
‘Fighting crime blindfolded’: Europe is coming after encryption Politico
European Parliament in ‘final stages’ of talks with China to remove sanctions on lawmakers SCMP
Russia imposes sanctions on 15 UK MPs over ‘hostile statements’ Guardian
Sanctioned Russian and Belarusian wood smuggled into UK Guardian
EU looking at options to forbid new Russian gas contracts Reuters
U.S. Army soldier gets 7 years in jail for selling American military secrets to China UPI
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Trump targeting college accreditation process in new executive order CNN
Tycoon facing death penalty has jail term cut to 30 years in $17B Vietnam money laundering case CBS
Convicted fraudster cardinal stripped of papal conclave voting rights insists on participating as Pope Francis lies in state NYP
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Over $16B in losses reported to FBI in 2024 tied to computer crime Record
Why America’s Biggest Crypto Company Is Trying to Stop a Pro-Crypto Bill From Passing Decrypt
Ransomware groups test new business models to hit more victims, increase profits Record
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How Criminals Use Art and Culture to Launder Money Insight Crime
U.S. Online Marketplace Operator Charged with Trafficking Deadly Synthetic Opioids Stronger Than Fentanyl DOJ
Kenya’s ant-smuggler bust exposes lucrative underground trade Reuters
Border Crossings Grind to Halt as Trump’s Tough Policies Take Hold WSJ
Texas man sentenced after trafficking baby spider monkeys from Mexico NBC
Turkey detains 234 people in Europe-coordinated drug bust Reuters
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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
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 /
‘China Track’ bank netting system shields Russia-China trade from Western eyes. The new system has been set up by major sanctioned banks and involves a web of intermediaries registered in countries that Russia considers friendly. Reuters
Unilever probes Ben & Jerry’s Foundation’s donations Semafor
Southeast Asian cyber fraud industry at ‘inflection point’ as it expands globally Record
World Economic Forum Opens New Probe Into Founder Klaus Schwab WSJ
Treasury Targets Iranian Liquified Petroleum Gas Magnate U.S. Treasury
Syria Makes Rare Arrests of Palestinian Militant Group Leaders NYT
Japan warns of hundreds of millions of dollars in unauthorized trades from hacked accounts Record
Senators Demand Federal Reserve Turn Over Records on Failed Fintech Synapse WSJ
Stablecoin Giant Circle Is Launching a New Payments and Remittance Network CoinDesk
Feds offer up to $5M for highest-ranking MS-13 leader’s arrest, conviction USAT
New York City Corruption CATO
Three prosecutors in corruption case against NYC Mayor Eric Adams resign Reuters
A Depleted Hamas Is So Low on Cash That It Can’t Pay Its Fighters. Israel has disrupted the Gaza militant group’s sources of cash and ability to distribute it. WSJ
Russia’s Hidden Empire Foreign Affairs
Drug Traffickers from Kalamazoo County Sentenced to Decades in Federal Prison DOJ
North Korea is now supplying nearly half of Russia’s artillery ammunition Reuters
The New Face of North Korean Sanctions Monitoring 38 North
Treasury Targets International Bank of Yemen for Support to the Houthis U.S. Treasury
U.S. Tries to Crush China’s AI Ambitions With Chips Crackdown WSJ
US imposes sanctions on a Chinese refinery accused of buying Iranian oil AP
US lifts sanctions against key Orbán ally accused of corruption Politico
White House plans to target university investments Semafor
Peru’s ex-president and first lady sentenced to 15 years in prison BBC
Where kleptocrats go house-hunting .coda
Lebanon’s Ex Central Bank Governor’s Embezzlement Case Sparks Applause—and Doubts OCCRP
Declassified Strategic Implementation Plan for Countering Domestic Terrorism DNI
TD anti-money laundering ex-staffer pleads guilty to data theft. Sewell’s phone contained images of 255 checks belonging to customers and personal information of nearly 70 others, including names, addresses, and social security numbers. Bloomberg
U.S. to keep monitors in place for TD Bank Reuters
💸 How TD Bank Laundered $670M Illicit Edge
Hedge Fund Veteran Set to Lead Trump’s Sanctions Strategy Bloomberg
Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht to make first public appearance at Bitcoin conference Block
💥 Head of Silk Road Tried to Murder His Staff Illicit Edge
Harvard advisor steps down after lawsuit details alleged ties to Hamas Independent
China admits cyberattacks on U.S. in secret meeting Telegraph
🇨🇳 Can we prevent American tech leaks to China? Illicit Edge
Block Agrees to $40M Settlement With NY Over Faulty AML Controls CoinDesk
How Nintendo Is Navigating Tariff Chaos with Secret Shipments and New Factories WSJ
Meta whistleblower tells senators Facebook worked “hand in glove” with China CBS
🎯 Whistleblowing 101 Illicit Edge
One of the dark web’s largest drug-dealing networks was run by four L.A. County men LAT
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China sanctions US congress members, officials and NGO heads Reuters
China’s latest export controls on rare earth elements causing chaos in car supply chain NYP
Russia’s role in trafficking, smuggling from Libya to EU DW
Switzerland Adopts Further EU Sanctions Targeting Russian Media Bloomberg
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Trump weighs banning nonprofits from sending grant money overseas — hitting groups founded by Zuckerberg, Gates and Soros NYP
Columbia student suspended over interview cheating tool raises $5.3M to ‘cheat on everything’ TC
The rise of Brazil’s fuel mafias and their gas station money laundering machines Conversation
Wife of ex-Sen. Bob Menendez found guilty in corruption case Roll Call
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How Some Bitcoin Mining Firms Try to Game U.S. Customs Controls CoinDesk
WazirX eyes comeback from $230M hack, pending key May 13 court ruling Block
SEC Still Plans on Charging Miami Crypto Company – But It’s Vowing to Fight Back Decrypt
UK drug dealers create their own cryptocurrency to launder dirty money Daily Mail
Two-Thirds of Funds From $1.4B Lazarus Group Hack Still Traceable Decrypt
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‘I’m Not a Criminal’: The Mexican Politician Suspected of Being in Bed With Cartels WSJ
Amazon illegal miners bypass enforcement by smuggling gold into Venezuela Mongabay
Human trafficking-fueled fraud ring dismantled in joint Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana operation Interpol
‘Legal morphine’ is for sale in Florida. Will officials act? TBT
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
