Happy Friday! It’s July 7, and we’re tracking today’s top stories: Reports abound of Wagner Group’s Prighozhin back in Russia, TikTok asks federal judge to block Montana’s ban, multiple countries launch sanctions and legal actions against Iran, inside the subsea cable firm helping America take on China, and much more…

Also, don’t miss top podcasts, articles, and reports from industry insiders…  Check 'em out below.

Featured Story

🎯 Prigozhin Still in Russia, Says Belarusian President: Lukashenko dismisses speculation of Putin planning to kill the Wagner group's mutinous chief. AFP  

Top Stories

🌍 TikTok and Creators Appeal to Judge Against Montana Ban: State and federal concerns continue to rise over Chinese government's potential misuse of ByteDance-owned app. AP

🌍 UK Sanctions 13 Iranian Officials, Entities: UK Foreign Office accuses listed individuals and organizations of human rights abuses. Iran International

🌍 Iran Faces ICJ Case Launched by UK, Canada, Sweden, and Ukraine: Actions track the shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger plane, leading to 176 casualties. DW

🌍 SubCom Aids US in Tech War Against China: The subsea cable company is boosting US military and economic strength through its operations. Reuters

🌍 Special Counsel Probes Trump's Post-2020 Election Oval Office Meeting: Prosecutors nearing charging decisions in the investigation of election overturn attempts. CNN

🌍 Experts Challenge White House's Hatch Act Defense: Ethics experts question Hatch Act invocation in Hunter Biden cocaine question. Fox News

🌍 Top Executives Exit Binance Over DOJ Investigations: CEO Changpeng Zhao's response to regulatory investigations prompts resignations. Fortune

🌍 Companies Respond to China's Export Curbs on Gallium and Germanium: Restriction escalates the tech war with the US, potentially disrupting global supply chains. Reuters

🌍 Kurd Sentenced for Financing Terrorism in Sweden: Landmark case under Sweden's updated terror laws involving the Kurdish PKK. BBC News

🌍 Cartel Leaves Severed Human Body Parts Across Mexican City: Familia Michoacana cartel suspected following discovery of body parts with signed messages. CBS News

IN THE NEWS

Russia

🇷🇺 EU Says Cost of Sanctions Will Hit Russia Harder Over Time Bloomberg

🇷🇺 He Got Arrested in Russia for a Bitcoin Bribe. Now the Coins Are Moving to Exchanges CoinDesk

🇷🇺 Police Raid Leaves Russian Billionaire’s Domestic Staff in Sanctions Limbo Bloomberg

🇷🇺 Russian railway site allegedly taken down by Ukrainian hackers The Record

🇷🇺 Russia Gas Giant Warns of Sanctions Risk for Ukraine Energy Firm Bloomberg

China

🇨🇳 So many wealthy Chinese are trying to get their kids out of the country that it’s made an obscure school one of the best-performing stocks in the world Fortune

🇨🇳 Goldman says West needs over $25 billion investments in rare earths to match China Reuters

🇨🇳 70 pounds of psychoactive drugs from China labeled as beauty products seized at US airport NY Post

🇨🇳 German Businesses Bet Big on China, and They’re Starting to Worry NY Times

🇨🇳 Apps with 1.5M installs on Google Play send your data to China Bleepingcomputer

Crypto & Cyber

🔒 Iran-based hackers targeting nuclear security experts through Mac, Windows malware The Record

🔒 CFTC Investigators Conclude Crypto Lender Celsius, Ex-CEO Broke Rules Bloomberg

🔒 Binance Refers Dutch Users to Rival Coinmerce as It Exits Netherlands CoinDesk

🔒 France Passes New Bill Allowing Police to Remotely Activate Cameras on Citizens' Phones Gizmodo

🔒 FTX Lawyer Who Made Problems Disappear Is Caught Up in Crypto Firm’s Fallout Bloomberg

Industry Insights

📚 The Jabbari Lincoln Files Podcast Sign Curve Studios

📚 The Solution Series - What is implementation support, and why do you need it? AML Conversations

📚 Beneficial Ownership Reporting – What Image of the ID Document? Jim Richards

📚 Creation of a CBDC the most absurd financial idea in the history of monetary policy John Reed Stark

📚 For Export Controls on AI, Don’t Forget the “Catch-All” Basics Center for Security and Emerging Technology

📚 Cash Cabal: How Hezbollah Profits from Lebanon's Financial Crisis Washington Institute for Near East Policy

"Don't carry a gun. It's nice to have them close by, but don't carry them. You might get arrested." --John Gotti

📩

Share Illicit Edge with friends!

They can subscribe here for free and never miss a story.