Launch Episodes: The High-Stakes Story of Tigran Gambaryan
We kick off with a two-part deep dive into the urgent case of Tigran Gambaryan, a former federal agent turned Binance Head of Financial Crime Compliance, now trapped in a nightmare. Watch and Subscribe // Listen and Follow
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🌎 Moscow Pushes To Lift Sanctions On Taliban. Moscow moves towards removing its own designation of the Taliban as a terrorist organization to advance cooperation between Moscow and Kabul. RFE
🌎 U.S. Wiretap Systems Targeted in China-Linked Hack. AT&T, Verizon are among broadband providers breached in China-linked ‘Salt Typhoon’ hack. WSJ
🌎 Binance Executive Is A Hostage, Former IRS Chief Says. In Illicit Edge’s “Designated,” Weber said Gambaryan’s detainment at Kuje prison had been anything but ideal, with the compliance chief behind bars alongside “the worst of the worst” terrorists. Crypto News
🌎 What Dictators, Corruption and Threesomes Have to Do With a Lawsuit That Could Kneecap Fox News. These days, a political trial can look a lot like a political campaign, complete with communications pros, oppo research and gobs of dollars. Politico
🌎 Big Russia Bet Is Minting Fortunes on Paper for Retail Investors. The investors’ predicament won’t draw sympathy among political leaders, who’ve sought to present a united front against Moscow. Bloomberg
🌎 U.S. and Microsoft Seize 107 Russian Domains in Major Cyber Fraud Crackdown. The domains were used for spear-phishing campaign targeting the email accounts of the U.S. government. Hacker News
🇷🇺 Russia arrests nearly 100 with suspected ties to sanctioned crypto exchange Record
🌎 Coinbase to Delist Non-Compliant Stablecoins in EU in December. The EU is set to fully implement new rules to oversee the crypto industry, known as MiCA, by the end of this year. Bloomberg
🌎 Billionaire who brought F1 to Singapore charged in landmark corruption probe. Ong Beng Seng, a Singapore-based Malaysian businessman, is managing director of Singapore-listed Hotel Properties Limited. CNBC
💸 Singapore tightens anti-money laundering measures Bangkok Post
🌎 In a Cat-and-Mouse Game, Russian Oil Tankers Are Flying New Flags. A shadowy network of ships has registered in Gabon, highlighting how Putin is building an economy beyond the reach of Western sanctions. NYT
🔑 International trade and macroeconomic dynamics with sanctions Vox EU
🌎 Cyprus’ luxury resort tied to Russia’s $230M Magnitsky scandal. Police closing in on major money laundering probe linking Cap St Georges resort to notorious tax fraud case. KNEWS
🎙️ Program Rule Comment Letter, DOJ Compliance Guidelines, and FBI Crime Data Explorer AML Conversations
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📌 Russian Missiles, American Chips Bloomberg
📌 EU Moves to Sanction Iran for Providing Missiles to Russia Bloomberg
📌 China’s WuXi explores sale of pharma operations as U.S. restrictions loom Reuters
📌 Texas oil companies among those targeted by Russian lawsuits Houston Chronicle
📌 Angola Diamonds Not Under Sanctions But Russia Link Is Obstacle Bloomberg
📌 Russia files lawsuit against Shell units Reuters
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💸 Millions of dollars in IRS refund checks sent through mail were stolen in massive fraud NYP
💸 After a Deloitte client’s $2.4B tax dodge faltered, it won’t say if it helped others exploit same loophole ICIJ
💸 Former Executives of Carbon-Credit Project Developer CQC Charged With Fraud WSJ
💸 Opposition Leader González Says He Plans to Return to Venezuela to Assume Power Bloomberg
💸 U.S. Toxicology Lab to Pay $27M to Settle Kickback Allegations OCCRP
💸 Kenya asks IMF to review corruption issues after Western push Reuters
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🔐 This Teenage Hacker Became a Legend Attacking Companies. Then His Rivals Attacked Him. WSJ
🔐 Tech platforms urged to tackle Hamas’ and Hezbollah’s online propaganda Record
🔐 Mystery creator of Bitcoin allegedly identified in HBO documentary Politico
🔐 ‘Pig butchering’ trading apps found on Google Play, App Store Tech Radar
🔐 Crypto phishing scams drained $46M in September Cointelegraph
🔐 White House official says insurance companies must stop funding ransomware payments Record
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🚚 DOJ Charges Ten Pharma Distributors For Unlawful Sales Of 70M Opioid Pills DOJ
🚚 Immigrant murder rate ‘tens of thousands’ higher than ICE’s bombshell figures Fox
🚚 France, Italy launch project to exchange migrant trafficking information Reuters
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📘 Ecuador’s Risky War on Narcos New Yorker
📘 New $72K Migrant Smuggling Routes to the U.S. Start With Charter Flights Reuters
📘 Money Laundering National Risk Assessment Singapore MAS
📘 A better anti-corruption machine Brookings
📘 Ransomware Victim Insights RUSI
📘 Standards and interoperability: The future of the global financial system Atlantic Council
📘 U.S. Foreign Extortion Prevention Act: New Tool in the Fight Against Global Corruption TI
📘 How We Uncovered the Modus Operandi of Criminals Smuggling Illegal Gold out of Venezuela Pulitzer Center
📘 Illicit Drugs Are Undermining Pacific Security USIP
📌 China’s Oppression of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang
📌 How Are U.S. Financial Sanctions Developed?
📌 Top 10 Ways Iran Supports and Empowers Hamas
📌 Iran’s Nuclear Weapons Program: A Dangerous Evolution
📌 Top 10 Ways Money Launderers Are Caught Red-Handed
📌 What are the Top 10 Books on Corruption, Kleptocracy, and Illicit Financing?
📌 What Are 10 Ways China Is Stealing Intellectual Property?
📌 These are Mexico’s Most Powerful Drug Cartels
📌 The Hypocrisy of Labeling Terrorists as ‘Militants’
📌 Sanctions and the IRGC: How Iran’s Paramilitary Group Profits from Economic Hardship
📌 What are the Arguments For and Against ESG?
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
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 /
🎙️ Conversation with an Exiled Venezuelan Opposition Leader Lawfare
🎙️ Hezbollah’s Secret Missile Cities, Russia Advances In Ukraine, & Hamas Chief Fears For Life President’s Daily Brief
🎙️ Fox News, defamation, and our new information reality Click Here
🎙️ Deep Cover: George Santos Pushkin
🎙️ Conversation with Former FATF President RUSI
🎙 ️The problem with the Nigerian economy has nothing to do with crypto Click Here
🎙 ️Crypto ATMs, a Senator Convicted, AUSTRAC Report, Timeshare Fraud, etc. AML Conversations
🎙 ️Sanctions and Russia’s Nuclear Diplomacy RUSI
🎙 ️Partnering with terrorists to fight terrorists Generation Jihad
🎙 ️Allen Stanford: The Lord of the Lies Scamfluencers
🌎 How fentanyl traffickers exploit U.S. trade law to kill Americans. Hundreds of millions of small packages pour into the U.S. each year from China – some with fentanyl stashed inside. Reuters
🌎 Mistaken Birthdate Could Allow Top Russian Spy To Slip Past Sanctions. The second-in-command of Russia’s security intelligence agency may be slipping through cracks due to mistakes in his birthdate. OCCRP
🌎 How North Korea Infiltrated the Crypto Industry. More than a dozen blockchain firms inadvertently hired undercover IT workers from the rogue state. CoinDesk
📌 Sanctioned North Korean unit tried to hack at least 3 U.S. organizations this summer Record
🌎 ‘Is Daddy on the Airplane?’ Jailed Binance Exec Gambaryan Family’s Ordeal in New Podcast. U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick alleged in the “Designated” podcast that Nigeria is holding him as a “hostage”. CoinDesk
📌 Binance founder CZ made over $25M per day while in prison Protos
🌎 It’s Time to Tighten Enforcement of Iran Oil Sanctions. Iran is reaping windfall profits from near-record oil production this year. Newsweek
🌎 Starling Bank fined £29m for ‘shockingly lax’ financial crime controls. Challenger bank apologizes for leaving system wide open to criminals and those subject to sanctions. Guardian
🌎 How the FBI and Mandiant caught a ‘serial hacker’ who tried to fake his own death. Jesse Kipf was a prolific hacker who sold access to systems he hacked. TechCrunch
🌎 The Cyber Sleuth. It is oftentimes an IRS cybercrime agent who uncovers the critical evidence in big, multiagency cases, even if they don’t always get the credit. WaPo
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🇷🇺 Police unmask Aleksandr Ryzhenkov as Evil Corp member and LockBit affiliate Record
🇷🇺 EU Moves to Sanction Russia Over Hybrid Attacks AFP
🇷🇺 Russia Getting Paid in Oranges in Trade Barter with Asian Ally Newsweek
🇷🇺 UK sanctions cyber-crime gang it says Russia charged with attacking NATO Reuters
🇷🇺 Planes Seized by Russia Spark Multibillion Dollar Insurance Spat Bloomberg
🇷🇺 Romanian Political Strategist In Business With Apparent Russian War Propagandist OCCRP
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🇨🇳 Chinese Man Extradited to U.S. Over $700M Plot to Sell North Korean Tobacco Newsweek
🇨🇳 U.S. sanctions Chinese and Iranian Houthi weapons smuggling networks UPI
🇨🇳 U.S. Treasury Calls for Transparency on China’s Currency Swaps Bloomberg
🇨🇳 Chinese start-up Numemory claims memory chip breakthrough amid sanctions SCMP
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💸 Ex-Jaguars employee who stole from team sues FanDuel for $250 million for “exploiting” his gambling addiction CBS
💸 Fed terminates 2013 money laundering enforcement action against Citigroup Reuters
💸 Ex-official from Ecuador laundered millions in bribes in Miami. He just got 10 years. Miami Herald
💸 Next-in-Line for New York Mayor Got Contributions From Donor in Eric Adams Indictment WSJ
💸 What’s a Golden Visa and Where Can You Still Get One? Bloomberg
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🔐 Hacker pleads guilty to stealing $37M in crypto via ‘cyber intrusion’ Cointelegraph
🔐 India disconnects 20M phone numbers in ‘cyberslave’ crackdown Protos
🔐 Systems used by courts and governments across the US riddled with vulnerabilities Ars
🔐 September crypto hacks surpass $120M, centralized exchanges hit Cointelegraph
🔐 International police dismantle cybercrime group in West Africa Record
🔑 Cryptocurrency Regulation Tracker Atlantic Council
🔑 COMTRADE: Using Trade Data to Uncover Fraud and Smuggling OCCRP
🔑 2022 Rule of Law Index World Justice Project
🔑 Global Organized Crime Index Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime
🔑 Anti-Corruption Helpdesk Transparency International
🔑 Flight Intelligence for Investigators Icarus Flights, C4ADS
🔑 Global Legislative Map: Violent Extremist and Terrorist-Related Online Content Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism
🔑 Basel AML Index Map Basel Institute on Governance
🔑 Scorched Earth: Using NASA Fire Data to Monitor War Zones Bellingcat
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