Happy Friday! It’s April 21, and we’re tracking today's top stories: Four possible charges against Hunter Biden, Chicago 'Wives of the Cartel' plead guilty in El Chapo case, evidence emerges of Russia's Wagner group arming combatants in Sudan, and much more…

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TOP STORIES

Federal prosecutors have considered four possible charges against Hunter Biden. Possible charges are two misdemeanor counts for failure to file taxes, a single felony count of tax evasion and a felony count related to a gun purchase. [more]

Chicago 'Wives of the Cartel' plead guilty in El Chapo-linked case. After the Flores brothers' testimony put El Chapo behind bars for life, it was the Flores wives who turned to crime. [more]

Illicit Edge Insights: How Did the Flores Brothers Take Down El Chapo? [more]

Evidence emerges of Russia’s Wagner arming militia leader battling Sudan’s army. The Russian mercenary group Wagner has been supplying Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces with missiles to aid their fight against the country’s army. [more]

Bandits steal almost two of gold from Toronto Airport in one of the world’s biggest ever heists. Goldmines from northern Ontario often ship bullion through the city’s airport, which handles nearly half of the country’s air cargo. [more]

G7 mulls almost complete ban on exports to Russia. Japan is set to host the G-7 summit in where discussions will take place on measures to expand support to Ukraine and strengthen sanctions on Russia among other key topics. [more]

Britain Sanctions Russian Figures Linked to Jailing of Putin Critic Kara-Murza. The new British sanctions also target two agents at Russia's FSB security service - Alexander Samofal and Konstantin Kudryavtsev - who it said were involved in poisonings. [more]

Europe’s Air-Traffic Agency Under Attack From Pro-Russian Hackers. Eurocontrol, the website for Europe’s air-traffic control agency, said it has been under attack from Russian hackers since April 19. [more]

Raids, sanctions and multi-million-dollar fines: China takes economic reprisals amid growing tensions with US. In addition to targeting specific companies, Beijing is considering limiting access to materials and technologies in industries that it dominates, such as intelligent vehicles and the photovoltaic sector. [more]

US Task Force Seeks to Transfer Seized Assets to Ukraine. The chief of the Justice Department unit charged with seizing assets connected to violators of sanctions against Russia said the program “cuts the purse strings from the Kremlin,” and that Congress could help it do more. [more]

DOJ charges 18 people — including doctors — in massive Covid health-care fraud takedowns. The charges, which span nine federal judicial districts, comprise the largest coordinated law enforcement action in the U.S. targeting fraud schemes that exploit the Covid pandemic. [more]

IN THE NEWS

Russia

Switzerland Sanctions Russia's Wagner Group. Wagner forces have been leading offensives in eastern Ukraine, including the city of Bakhmut, which has become the longest and bloodiest battle of Russia's military campaign. [more]

Russia floats idea of paying foreign companies selling assets in bonds, not cash. Asset sales by investors from so-called "unfriendly" countries, those that imposed sanctions against Moscow, require approval from a government commission. [more]

Number of Russian Billionaires Jumps in 2023 Despite Sanctions. The rise in the number of wealthy Russians appears to fly in the face of significant Western sanctions and a troubled Russian economy that shrank 2.1% last year. [more]

Pakistan makes its first purchase of discounted Russian oil. Pakistan's purchase gives Russia a new outlet, adding to Moscow's growing sales to India and China, as it redirects oil from western markets because of the Ukraine conflict. [more]

China

Chipmaking tool firms expect boom in China sales despite export rules. Lam is subject to the U.S. export restrictions, and ASML will face new rules from the Dutch government on China sales later this year. But those rules so far have only affected equipment used in making the most advanced chips. [more]

Russia's Sberbank has tapped yuan liquidity via central bank swaps. The dollar was king in Russia for decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, but over the past year the yuan has grown significantly in importance. [more]

India court rejects Xiaomi's challenge to $676M asset freeze. Xiaomi's assets in India were frozen last year by the federal financial crime agency which alleged the company had made illegal remittances to foreign entities by passing them off as royalty payments. [more]

Cyber & Crypto

Is Europe’s MiCA a Template for Global Crypto Regulation? Formally enacted Thursday, the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation is the most comprehensive framework of its kind. How will it influence how non-EU states regulate digital assets? [more]

North Korean hackers breach software firm in significant cyberattack. The breach of the software firm 3CX, discovered last month, provided a potential foothold for the North Koreans into a huge swath of multinational firms – from hotel chains to health care providers. [more]

Capita confirms hackers stole data in recent cyberattack. On April 17, 2023, the Black Basta ransomware gang posted Capita on its extortion portal on the dark web, offering to sell stolen data to interested buyers unless the victim paid the ransom. [more]

Corruption & Financial Crime

Assassination of journalist Rafael Moreno: Revealing the millions embezzled in Colombia. Moreno conducted investigations into allegations of wide-scale corruption in the province of Córdoba, revealing a system of cronyism in public works contracts potentially to the tune of several million dollars. [more]

Cotton, gold or jihad: Burkina Faso’s youth caught between violence and hardship. With one of youngest populations in the world, young people face choice of joining armed groups or working in harsh conditions [more]

Venezuela corruption: 15-year sentence for Hugo Chávez's nurse. Díaz and her husband had been found guilty of laundering millions of dollars they had received in bribes from a Venezuelan media mogul. [more]

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