Plus: Here’s What $160M of Cocaine Looks Like – Coast Guard Seizes 12,000 Pounds of Illicit Narcotics...
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9/22/23

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Happy Friday! It’s September 22, and we’re tracking top stories to take you into the weekend: $200M Medicare fraud, 3M hit for $10M over Iran sales, U.S. considers seizing frozen Russian assets, Coast guard nabs 12,000 pounds of illicit narcotics, and much more...

 

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Featured Story

 

🎯 Florida nurse practitioner convicted in $200 million Medicare fraud scheme. In 2020, Ms. Hernandez ordered more cancer genetic tests for Medicare beneficiaries than any other provider in the nation, including oncologists and geneticists. CNBC 

 

Top Stories

 

💥 3M Agrees to Pay Nearly $10 Million Over Sale of Products to Iran. Treasury’s sanctions enforcer said a 3M subsidiary sold products to a German reseller knowing they were destined for an Iranian customer. WSJ

 

💥 Yellen Signals Support for Windfall Tax on Frozen Russian Assets. The Biden administration has come under pressure to seize the funds outright, something Yellen has said would be illegal under current law. Bloomberg

 

💥 Here's what $160 million of cocaine looks like: Coast Guard seizes 12,000 pounds of drugs. Twelve pallets hold blocks of the narcotics stacked up as much as five rows high. USA Today

 

💥 Apple emergency updates fix 3 new zero-days exploited in attacks. Two bugs were found in the WebKit browser engine and the Security framework enabling attackers to bypass signature validation using malicious apps. Bleepingcomputer

 

💥 The Elusive Figure Running Wagner’s Embattled Empire of Gold and Diamonds. Following Prigozhin’s death, business school grad Dmitry Sytii is working to preserve the group’s multibillion-dollar African operations. WSJ

 

💥 India visit next week as G7 looks to take the shine off Russian diamonds. Western nations are sending representatives to India, home to 90% of the world's cutting and polishing of the rare gems, to discuss potential effects of any G7 restrictions on imports of rough Russian diamonds. Reuters

 

💥 Trump request to delay civil fraud trial ‘brazen and meritless’. The New York attorney general’s office is suing Trump, the Trump Organization and two of his adult children, alleging more than a decade of fraud. The Hill

 

💥 TikTok's Rules Deter Researchers From Crunching Data on Users, Misinformation. TikTok is in the process of making its API open to researchers to analyze data on the platform. But the terms of service are so strict, academics at leading institutions say they’re hesitant to accept them. Bloomberg

 

💥 Europe To Drop Over-Compliance In Venezuela Over Natural Gas? Since the White House started imposing sanctions – mainly between 2017 and 2020 – third-country multinationals have been scared away from the country. Forbes

IN THE NEWS

China

 

🇨🇳 GGV splits off China business following congressional panel probe TechCrunch

 

🇨🇳 China Is Trumping Russia in Currency Tug-of-War Newsweek

 

🇨🇳 China approves export licenses for chip materials gallium, germanium Reuters

 

🇨🇳 Seized HK Mansion Listed for $112 Million Traces Fall of Evergrande Tycoon Bloomberg

 

🇨🇳 China’s quest for human genetic data spurs fears of a DNA arms race WaPo

Russia

 

🇷🇺 UAE Considers Export Controls That May Hurt Russia’s War Machine Bloomberg

 

🇷🇺 Novatek's former CFO sentenced for tax crimes as U.S. targets Russian gas giant UPI

 

🇷🇺 Russia curbs gasoline and diesel exports to ease shortages CNN

 

🇷🇺 What next for Europe’s sanctions on Russia? FT

Corruption & Financial Crime

 

💸 Mexican cartels are fifth-largest employers in the country Guardian

 

💸 Democratic Senator Accused of Cartoonish Corruption New York Magazine

 

💸 Mexican investment scam ‘mastermind’ used proceeds to buy Prosper mansion, jewelry Dallas Morning News

 

💸 Myanmar junta sacks general for alleged bribery and corruption RFA

Crypto & Cyber

 

🔐 Bitcoin machines, rocket-launchers seized in Venezuela prison AFP

 

🔐 Crypto Companies Are Looking Outside the U.S. for Growth WSJ

 

🔐 Crypto Exchange Binance, CEO Zhao Ask Court to Dismiss SEC Suit CoinDesk

 

🔐 Incomplete disclosures by Apple and Google create “huge blindspot” for 0-day hunters Ars

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!

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