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Hello!  It’s February 29, and we’re tracking today's top stories: Halkbank wants immunity in Iran sanctions case, FinCEN goes on full court press to spread awareness of CTA requirements, Estonia ends Swedbank money laundering probe, meet the all-in-one Android money laundering app, and much more...

Catch up on ALL the news with Illicit Edge...

Featured Story

🎯 Halkbank urges immunity from U.S. prosecution in Iran sanctions case. U.S. prosecutors charged Halkbank in 2019 over its use of money servicers and front companies in Iran, Turkey and the UAE to evade sanctions. Reuters

Top Stories

🌎 Treasury watchdog on a ‘full court press’ to spread awareness of new business registry rules. Established under the Corporate Transparency Act, the registry is intended to be a tool to aid law enforcement, banks and regulators to detect financial crimes. CNBC

🚩 FATF Identifies Jurisdictions with AML/CFT/CP Deficiencies FinCEN

🌎 Swedbank says Estonia ends money laundering probe. Swedbank had been under investigation for governance deficiencies related to AML measures in its Baltic subsidiaries. Morningstar

🌎 Meet 'XHelper,' the All-in-One Android App for Global Money Laundering. Cybercriminals are laundering stolen funds through ordinary people, thanks to a small ecosystem of user-friendly apps. Dark Reading

🚀 Introducing Hummingbird Automations: A New Way To Safely Automate Your Compliance Processes

🌎 Divisions Among Finance Ministers Flare Over Seizing Russian Assets. In Brazil this week, they’re arguing about the best way to do it without getting into legal or financial jeopardy. Bloomberg

🌎 London property tied to Putin ally remains untouched by sanctions. Despite reforms to root out oligarchs who own U.K. real estate, the country has repeatedly overlooked Kremlin-linked assets hidden in plain sight. ICIJ

🌎 Trump Wants a Break on $464M Judgment. He’s Sneaking Assets to Florida. The Attorney General says investigators have caught him moving his business assets. Daily Beast

🚩 A Gift to Trump: Ex-President Won’t Face Federal Trial Before Election Day Mediaite

🌎 Venezuela Flouts US-Brokered Deal, Pressing Biden to Reimpose Sanctions. The Barbados agreement guaranteed the election would have credible international observation. Bloomberg

🌎 U.S. Government Crypto Wallets Transfer Nearly $1B of Bitcoin Seized From Bitfinex Hacker. Wallets containing bitcoin seized by the USG in the notorious Bitfinex hack have suddenly become active. CoinDesk

🌎 Winklevoss Twins' Gemini Promises to Return $1.1B to Earn Customers. The pact is tied to the bankruptcy of Genesis Global Capital, Gemini's partner for its Earn program. CoinDesk

🌎 Columbia University Hospital DEI Chief Is Serial Plagiarist. McKen works with the Columbia provost's office, which oversees tenure decisions for the entire university. Free Beacon

🌎 TX man sentenced to 13 years after he conspired to fund terrorism in Syria. Wadi funneled money to terrorist groups, including al-Nusrah Front, a Syrian militant organization aligned with Al Qaeda. CBS

🚩 Families of Hamas music festival massacre victims sue Reuters, AP reporters for participating in massacre NYP

IN THE NEWS

Russia

🇷🇺 US Sanctions Are Moving Closer to Disrupting Russia’s Crude Exports Bloomberg

🇷🇺 Putin Needs to Feel the Pain Politico

🇷🇺 How to put Russia’s frozen assets to work for Ukraine Economist

🇷🇺 The US art market is a sanctions black hole FT

🇷🇺 EU countries float new Russia sanctions tool after Navalny’s death Politico

China

🇨🇳 US to probe if Chinese cars pose national data security risks CNN

🇨🇳 Foreign Firms in China Flag Lack of Feedback on Data Security Bloomberg

🇨🇳 Canada fired two scientists for sharing information with Beijing Reuters

Corruption & Financial Crime

💸 Green Dot faces Fed’s proposed consent order Banking Dive

🔐 SEC Objects to Terraform’s $166M Retainer of Law Firm Dentons CoinDesk

💸 Kari Lake’s Bribery Scandal Involves a Shady GOP Tech Firm Daily Beast

💸 As Europe Urges ‘Reform’ in Serbia, Local Election Observers Point to State Machinery Behind Vote Rigging OCCRP

Trafficking

🚚 NYC’s Adams sees the light on lunatic sanctuary laws NYP

🚚 US sentences Florida resident for smuggling guns to Haiti gang Reuters

🚚 New York Collector Pleads Guilty to Smuggling Rare Birdwing Butterflies AP

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