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🎯 The Odyssey of the Queen Majeda. The capture of a Libyan tanker in Albanian waters opened a window on a $5B trade in smuggled fuel — much of it coming from Russia. Bloomberg
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🌎 People Are Using Basic AI to Bypass KYC – But Should You? For $15 you can get an AI-generated ID to open a bank account, unban your crypto, and open the gates that AML measures closed. Decrypt
🌎 Popular pickleball clothing brand CEO known as the sports 'ultimate ambassador' is accused of running Ponzi scheme. Rodney 'Rocket' Grubbs launched Pickleball Rocks to sell apparel – and soon convinced other pickleball fans to invest. Daily Mail
🚀 Treasury Publishes 2024 National Risk Assessments for AML/CFT U.S. Treasury
🌎 Dubai clearinghouse barred from EU access amid money laundering concerns. The move, which blocks EU banks from using the financial infrastructure, comes after the bloc badged the UAE as a money laundering threat. Euronews
🌎 Some Russian Banks May Have Swapped Gold for Dollars. Banks appear to have maneuvered around a ban on shipping dollars and euros to the country by trading gold in the UAE and Turkey. Bloomberg
🌎 German firm BASF urged to quit Xinjiang over ‘gross abuses’ of Uyghurs. BASF runs two chemical factories in Xinjiang, launched in collaboration with a Chinese firm in 2016. Guardian
🌎 Hack Reveals How Much Russia Paid Iran for Shahed Drones. The unit cost set by the Iranian side was 23M rubles – or around $375K at the time – according to a Prana leak. Newsweek
🚩 DIA report confirms the Houthis’ use of Iranian missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles to conduct attacks across the Middle East DIA
🌎 Inside Donald Trump’s Incredible Cash Crunch. Two New York laws are about to smack Trump in the face, no matter if he plans to appeal two massive civil judgments that could wipe out his cash hoard. Daily Beast
🌎 Ex-Pemex manager sought 'cash register' of bribes from Vitol trader. The trial in Brooklyn federal court has largely focused on allegations Aguilar bribed officials in Ecuador to help Vitol win a $300M contract. Reuters
🌎 U.K. Offshore Ownership Registry Reveals Luxury Properties Owned By Armenian Ex-President’s Family. Company records show his sons became persons of “significant influence or control” in two of the BVI companies. OCCRP
🌎 Here's how a mob of illegal immigrants can maul cops in NYC and get away with it. It is now routine to find high-flight-risk offenders released without conditions – and then to find that they flee, often after committing more crimes. Fox
🌎 Venezuela Oil Industry Fears Losing Ground if U.S. Revives Sanctions. Venezuelan President Maduro is betting the U.S. won’t revive all its sanctions as he backslides on a promise of free elections. Bloomberg
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