Hello!  It’s May 16, and we’re tracking today's top stories: $1.2B Venezuelan-Miami money laundering case nets guilty plea, Yemeni terrorist financing probe blocks red sea cable repair, Cyprus at center of sanctions scandal, U.S. blocks 26 Chinese firms over Uyghur human rights violations, and much more...

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🎯 Son-in-law of top opponent of Venezuela’s president pleads guilty to U.S. money laundering charges. The Argentine-born asset manager is the latest caught up in a multiyear investigation, known as Operation Money Flight, targeting corruption inside Venezuela’s oil industry. AP

Top Stories

🌎 Yemeni Terrorist Financing Probe Blocks Red Sea Cable Repair. The Iran-backed Houthis control much of Yemen’s telecom infrastructure. Bloomberg

🌎 Cyprus at Center of Sanctioned Afghan Politician’s International Business Empire. Ajmal Rahmani amassed real estate in Germany worth $212M using Cypriot holding companies. OCCRP

🌎 U.S. Blocks Imports From 26 More Chinese Companies Over Forced Labor Concerns. The move targets Chinese textile companies and sharply increases the list of banned firms. WSJ

🌎 Canada’s ‘Crypto King’ Arrested, Charged With Fraud in $30M Ponzi Scheme. Aiden Pleterski was reportedly kidnapped, beaten and tortured by five of his alleged victims last summer. CoinDesk

📕 Featured Report: Crypto Investigations – Blockchain Intelligence for Law Enforcement Chainalysis

🌎 JCB built and supplied equipment to Russia months after saying exports had stopped. Russian customs records suggest firm owned by major Tory donor kept supplying machines after ‘voluntary pause’. Guardian

🌎 Biden plans executive order to shut down border once crossings reach 4,000 per day — despite saying he needs Congress to act. The order would match a provision in the bipartisan border bill that failed to pass the Senate in February. NYP

🌎 Giant Manhunt Underway to Find ‘The Fly’ After Deadly Prison Van Ambush. Two prison officers were killed when gunmen launched a shocking daylight attack to spring Mohamed Amra from custody. Daily Beast

🌎 Seeking Access to Congo’s Metals, White House Aims to Ease Sanctions. A deal to allow an Israeli billionaire to cash out mining positions in the DRC has enraged human rights activists and government officials. NYT

🌎 HHS looks to debar group at center of COVID lab-leak theories. Critics have questioned whether the WIV’s research may have led to a lab-leak that caused the global pandemic. Hill

🌎 Feds seize BreachForums platform. The website and Telegram page for the notorious BreachForums platform, a popular bazaar for stolen data and cybercriminal tools, appears to have been seized. Record

🌎 Victims of Think Finance loan repayment scam to get $384M. Consumers scammed by Think Finance into repaying loans they did not owe are being refunded through distributions from the CFPB. CBS

IN THE NEWS

Russia

🇷🇺 Estonia parliament backs using frozen Russian assets for Ukraine reparations Reuters

🇷🇺 EU adds Russian media outlets to sanctions list despite Kremlin warning Reuters

🇷🇺 Top Senate Democrats call to expand US sanctions on extremist Israeli settlers TOI

🇷🇺 Swedish investor AP7 to back study on Mondelez Russia business Reuters

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China

🇨🇳 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger,' China trolls new US tariffs Reuters

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

🇨🇳 US House committee advances bill to restrict BGI, WuXi AppTec Reuters

🇨🇳 In first AI dialogue, US cites ‘misuse’ of AI by China, Beijing protests Washington’s restrictions AP

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Corruption & Financial Crime

💸 L.A.'s dirtiest cop: A mild-mannered traffic officer who moonlighted as a hit man LAT

💸 German far-right politician’s office searched as part of bribery and money laundering probe Politico

💸 Blackhawks accused of fraud, sexual harassment by consultant AP

💸 U.S. imposes sanctions, visa restrictions on Nicaragua over repression, migrant smuggling Reuters

💸 He risked everything to uncover corruption in Venezuela. Will it topple Maduro? CSM

💸 UK trade summit in Saudi Arabia accused of promoting firms linked to senior Tories Guardian

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Crypto & Cyber

🔐 Brothers Accused of $25M Ethereum Exploit as U.S. Reveals Fraud Charges CoinDesk

🔐 Sonne Finance developers offer bounty to hacker behind $20M crypto theft Record

🔐 Scammers Fake DocuSign Templates to Blackmail & Steal From Companies Dark Reading

🔐 FTX Creditors Will Get Paid In Full. They Just Want Crypto Back. Bloomberg

🔐 House Resolution to Overturn Controversial SEC Rule Likely to Pass in Senate CoinDesk

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Terror

💥 ACLU backs efforts to sink bill stripping any nonprofit that 'bankrolls terrorists' of tax-exempt status Fox

💥 NYC's 2024 Pride month events may be targeted by terrorists CBS

💥 US removes Cuba from list of countries not cooperating fully against terrorism Reuters

💥 Jordan foils arms plot as kingdom caught in Iran-Israel shadow war Reuters

"Dying societies accumulate laws like dying men accumulate remedies." --Nicolás Gómez Dávila

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