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Greetings!  It’s August 29, and we’re tracking today's top stories: How California became a new center of political corruption, notorious Iranian hackers target the space industry, concierge for criminals, U.S. government funding yields hundreds of patents for China researchers, and much more...    

Stay current with the latest news at Illicit Edge!

Featured Story

🎯 How California Became a New Center of Political Corruption. Local politicians are engaged in what authorities called an “extraordinary” wave of corruption, unable to resist favors and bribes from land developers. NYT 

Top Stories

🌎 Notorious Iranian Hackers Have Been Targeting the Space Industry With a New Backdoor. Iran-backed hacker group Peach Sandstorm - or APT 33 - has developed custom malware dubbed “Tickler.” Wired

🌎 Concierge for criminals: Criminal ring gave thieves cars, maps to upscale homes across U.S. Seven people are charged in intercontinental "crime tourism" ring that targeted affluent locations across the nation. USAT

🌎 U.S. government funding yielded hundreds of patents for China-based researchers. The patents included 197 in pharmaceuticals and 154 in biotechnology, both strategic industries for China and the U.S. Reuters

💸 How the migrant crisis drained $150B from taxpayers in a single year NYP

🚀 INTRANA: Join us for the 4th Industrial Revolution

🌎 Russian economy shows solid growth despite Ukraine war sanctions. An estimate for GDP growth in the first half of the year stood at 4.6%, compared with 1.8% for the same period last year. Reuters

🌎 Pair in 1MDB Fraud Sentenced to Years in Swiss Prison. Their scheme was among the first to siphon money out of the fund, which borrowed billions of dollars, much of which was later stolen. WSJ

💸 Malaysia's 1MDB says bid to strike out its $394M claim against BSI Bank dismissed in Singapore Reuters

🌎 U.S. imposes sanctions on extremist Israeli settlers in West Bank. Targeting of government-funded group active in Hebron hills brings punitive measures closer to Israeli cabinet. Guardian

🌎 Violent Drug Gangs Bring Mayhem to Western Europe. Dutch cocaine kingpin sentenced to life in prison after deadly crime spree; ‘violence is destabilizing society’. WSJ

🌎 Telegram CEO Pavel Durov charged in France over illegal activity on app. He must remain in the country under judicial supervision, with a bail set at 5M euros, and is required to report to the French police station twice a week. CNN

🌎 ‘My identity is stolen’: Photos of European influencers used to push pro-Trump propaganda on fake X accounts. Photos of fashion influencers from the Netherlands, Denmark, and Russia have been stolen by unknown actors to promote Trump. CNN

IN THE NEWS

Russia & China

📌 Two Republicans want Pentagon to add Chinese battery maker CATL to restricted list Reuters

📌 Russia bans 92 Americans VOA

📌 Russian Central Bank sees imports falling in 2024, crimped by Western sanctions Reuters

📌 Indian solar panels face U.S. scrutiny for possible links to China forced labor Reuters

📌 Russia opens fraud case against former deputy defense minister Moscow Times

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Corruption & Financial Crime

💸 Foreign nationals charged in swatting campaign against senior U.S. officials Hill

💸 The Kickback Schemes That Inflated Costs for Homebuyers WSJ

💸 Libya's oil blockade widens as factions vie to control central bank Reuters

💸 BCG admits it paid bribes to win consulting business in Angola FT

💸 WFP launches probe into its Sudan operations as famine spreads Reuters

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Crypto & Cyber

🔐 SEC notifies NFT marketplace, OpenSea, of likely lawsuit Axios

🔐 Iran operated fake human-resources firm to root out unfriendly spies Reuters

🔐 Binance CEO Teng Rejects Allegations the Exchange Froze All Palestinians' Funds CoinDesk

🔐 DICK'S shuts down email, locks employee accounts after cyberattack Bleepingcomputer

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Trafficking

🚚 Largest Cocaine Haul So Far This Year Seized at Key Texas-Mexico Border Crossing Newsweek

🚚 Backpage.com founder Michael Lacey sentenced to 5 years, fined $3M for money laundering AP

🚚 Armed crew flaunts guns inside Colorado apartment building overrun by Venezuelan gang NYP

🚚 Vanuatu ancestral relics, trafficked as art to New York, return home with FBI escort Reuters

"Well, if crime fighters fight crime and fire fighters fight fire, what do freedom fighters fight?" --George Carlin

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