🌎 Russian tycoon Deripaska calls latest US sanctions ‘balderdash’.  Treasury sanctioned a web of Russian companies used to disguise ownership of a $1.6B industrial stake controlled by Deripaska. Reuters

🌎 These ISIS news anchors are AI fakes. Their propaganda is real.  The videos offer earliest signs of AI helping terrorist groups quickly disseminate hype and recruit members. WaPo 

🚩 Florida Muslim School Accused of Training ‘Future Terrorists’ Newsweek

🌎 Arizona woman charged in North Korean IT worker scheme that raised millions.  The scheme compromised the identities of 60 Americans and affected 300 US companies. CNN

🇰🇵 U.S. offers $5M for info on North Korean IT workers involved in job fraud Record

🌎 Spanish police break up Sinaloa cartel network, seize 1.8 tons of meth.  Police made five arrests and raided six properties in the eastern region of Valencia. CBS

🎙️ Featured Podcast: Wildlife Trafficking, Canadian Crypto ATMs, Dubai Real Estate, and More AML Conversations

🌎 U.S. sanctions undermine confidence in dollar.  Putin said that U.S. sanctions policy was undermining confidence in the dollar and that Russia and China would find a way to stop the threat. Reuters

🔐 Hong Kong Expands Cross-Border Digital Yuan Trial, Allows Residents to Set Up E-CNY Wallets CoinDesk

🌎 Mystery in the Alps: A Chinese Family, a Swiss Inn and the World’s Most Expensive Weapon.  Switzerland agreed to buy F-35 jet fighters to park on a remote runway. Then the U.S. zeroed in on the Wangs. WSJ

🌎 Border Patrol officials who partied with tequila mogul are also under investigation for ties to wealthy border businessman.  CBP’s watchdog is now investigating whether Border Patrol leaders disclosed their contacts with Eduardo Garza. NBC

🚚 Illegal crossings at US-Canada border on pace to shatter 2023 record NYP

🌎 Foreign Oil Firms in Venezuela Scramble for US Licenses Ahead of Deadline.  Firms are flooding OFAC with applications, leaving officials struggling to clear the backlog. Bloomberg

🌎 Binance executive denied bail in Nigeria amid $35M money laundering trial.  Federal High Court of Nigeria has refused to grant bail to Tigran Gambaryan. Block

📕 Treasury Announces 2024 National Illicit Finance Strategy U.S. Treasury

—

RUSSIA  

🇷🇺 U.S. Announces New Sanctions Over North Korea-Russia Arms Transfers Reuters

🇷🇺 U.S. lukewarm on G7 Russian diamond ban after industry backlash Reuters

🇷🇺 Russia plans big dairy export push in MENA Reuters

🇷🇺 Russian Uranium Supplier Tenex Issues Force Majeure Notice Bloomberg

🇷🇺 Russia and China to sign Power of Siberia-2 gas pipeline contract Reuters

—

CHINA

🇨🇳 Chinese spy defects, reveals Beijing’s secrets Washington Times

🇨🇳 US Says China Must Choose Between Putin and West Newsweek

🇨🇳 What are the 14 Chinese items on the US tariff list, and how important are they? SCMP

🇨🇳 How is China supporting Russia after it was sanctioned for Ukraine war? BBC

🇨🇳 Congressional leaders concerned by NYPD’s use of Chinese-made drones Record

—

CORRUPTION & FINANCIAL CRIME

💸 Businesspeople do not dispute giving gold, cash to Menendezes — but say they were ‘gifts’ Politico

💸 House Ethics panel subpoenas DOJ for Gaetz records Politico

💸 Australian League Soccer Players Arrested for Betting Corruption CNN

💸 Facebook and Nike DEI manager sentenced to 5 years in prison for fraud scheme CNBC

💸 Secret FBI files allege former L.A. city attorney lied to feds, likely obstructed justice. LAT

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EUROPE 

📌 Nickel, guns and foreign powers: How France’s New Caledonia reached the brink of ‘civil war’ Politico

📌 Deepfake ‘CFO’ tricked British design firm in $25M scam Fortune

📌 German far-right politician’s office searched in bribery probe Politico

📌 Italian police uncover billion-euro tax credit scam Reuters

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ASIA & MIDDLE EAST

🎯 Vietnam forfeits billions of dollars in foreign aid amid anti-graft freeze Reuters 

🎯 Data leak reveals links between Singapore money launderer and sale of Dubai properties Straits Times

🎯 Turkey expects removal from global money laundering ‘grey list’ Al-Monitor

🎯 Israel to abolish free trade deal with Turkey Reuters

🎯 Jordan’s king wants neighbors to confront smugglers Reuters

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CRYPTO & CYBER

🔐 French Securities Regulator Warns Investors Against Crypto Exchange Bybit CoinDesk

🔐 How MIT Brothers Cheated a Noxious Ethereum Practice for $25M CoinDesk

🔐 Binance helps Taiwan solve $6.2M crypto fraud Cointelegraph

🔐 US Senate passes measure withdrawing SEC accounting bulletin Block

🔐 Concerns over addicted kids spur probe into Meta and its use of dark patterns FT

🔐 Digitalization of banking creates new risks, says global watchdog Reuters

—

TRAFFICKING

🚚 Sean Combs’ Accused Drug ‘Mule’ Strikes Deal in Cocaine Case Rolling Stone 

🚚 Biden takes another step to fast-track asylum process for border crossers Axios

🚚 Biden refuses to reveal terror watchlist nationalities as illegal immigration explodes Fox

🚚 Panama weighs more checkpoints in treacherous jungle increasingly crossed by migrants Reuters

🚚 Biden announces moves to relax weed restrictions Politico

—

RESEARCH AND MULTIMEDIA

📘 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

📘 France Compliance Report: Preventing corruption and promoting integrity in central governments EU

📘 China Rubicon Report – The Institutional Investors & Funds financing the rise of technology innovation in China and other adversarial autocracies. Future Union

📘 Paper Wall: Chinese Websites Posing as Local News Outlets Target Global Audiences with Pro-Beijing Content Citizen Lab

📘 Bankrolling Terror: Iran’s Role in Fundraising and Recruiting for Hamas Post-10/7 Cloudburst

📘 Safer Scrolling: How algorithms popularize and gamify online hate and misogyny for young people University of Kent

ILLICIT EDGE INSIGHTS

📌 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?

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 /

PODCASTS

🎙 Treasury in the Time of Russia Sanctions: Insights with Liz Rosenberg RUSI 

🎙 Sanctions Past, Present, and Future with OFAC Director Brad Smith Lawfare

🎙 FBI Director Wray talks takedown operations, nation-state hackers, and growing threats in cyberspace Record

🎙 Do sanctions still work as a weapon of war? Economist

🎙️Pirate of Prague Apple

🎙️Bug bounties with Chinese characteristics Click Here

🎙️Davos, WWIII, Essential Books GoodFellows

IN OTHER NEWS

COMPLIANCE TOOLBOX

🔑 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