Happy Monday! It’s July 10, and we’re tracking today’s top stories: Putin met with Wagner's Prigozhin days after failed rebellion, Prigozhin's business empire faces uncertainty, Ukraine eyes Sense Bank for takeover, unraveling the trillion-dollar pandemic relief fraud, and much more...

Enjoying Illicit Edge?  Your colleagues can subscribe, too.  Spread the word!

Featured Story

🎯 Putin Met with Prigozhin After Quasi-Rebellion: Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with the Wagner group leader after his mini-coup, stirring questions about Prigozhin's influence with the leader. USA Today

Top Stories

🌎 Wagner Leader's Business Empire Faces Uncertainty: After building substantial influence in Russia and businesses in 15 countries, the future of Yevgeny V. Prigozhin's ventures remains uncertain following his mini-mutiny. NY Times

🌎 Ukraine Eyes Sense Bank Takeover from Russian Billionaires: The Ukrainian government seeks to seize Sense Bank from its owners, including prominent Russian billionaires under EU and UK sanctions. Bloomberg

🌎 Unraveling the Trillion-Dollar Pandemic Relief Fraud: Investigations continue into wide-scale fraud following COVID pandemic relief – the greatest scam of all time. Rolling Stone

🌎 SVB Financial Seeks to Recover $1.93B from US FDIC: SVB Financial files a lawsuit against the FDIC to recover seized funds that are reportedly hindering its reorganization and potential earning in interest. Reuters

🌎 Terrorist Financing Turns to TRON and DeFi: A recent shift in terrorist financing sees Bitcoin replaced by assets on the TRON blockchain. Forbes

🌎 China Fines Ant Group Nearly $1 Billion: China's top regulators have penalized Ant Group for violations related to consumer protection and corporate governance. CNN

🌎 China’s Mineral Monopoly Fires Warning Shot: China, controlling a large portion of essential minerals like lithium, cobalt, and aluminum, sends a signal to the U.S. WSJ

🌎 Iran Allegedly Pursues Atom Bomb Test: New intelligence reports indicate Iran's attempts to secure nuclear weapons technology despite Western sanctions. Fox News

🌎 California Land Purchases Near Air Force Base Raise Concerns: Unidentified investors' significant land acquisitions near a major air force base prompt government investigation. WSJ

🌎 Revolut US Experiences Major Theft: Thieves exploit a payment flaw, stealing $20 million via ATM withdrawals after declined transactions. Bloomberg

🌎 New 'NokNok' Malware Targeting macOS: The Charming Kitten hackers introduce new macOS malware in a phishing campaign. Bleepingcomputer

🌎 Top U.S. Law Firms Face Cybersecurity Breach: Major law firms are among the victims of a massive breach claimed by the ransomware group Clop. NY Post

IN THE NEWS

China & Russia

💥 China has been secretly fueling a renewable energy boom in Latin America – just look at Chile Fortune

💥 Western Involvement in Russian Missiles Is Getting Harder to Ignore Newsweek

💥 Russia has resources China needs to fight the West, and Beijing can't find them anywhere else in the world Business Insider

💥 South Korean motor lubricant exports to Russia surge after oil majors retreat FT

💥 US wants coalition of nations to engage China in curbing synthetic drugs Reuters

Corruption & Financial Crime

💰 Mexican military to take over airports as president takes aim at corruption AP

💰 Amazon manager stole nearly $10M and bought home, cars Miami Herald

💰 Berlusconi’s will dishes cash to kids, partner and rogue political adviser Politico

💰 Elon Musk sues law firm that represented Twitter amid his buyout over its 'unconscionable' $90M fee Fox Business

Crypto & Cyber

🔐 Vishing Goes High-Tech: New 'Letscall' Malware Employs Voice Traffic Routing Hacker News

🔐 Winklevoss Twins’ Gemini Sues Crypto Conglomerate DCG, Citing Fraud Bloomberg

🔐 Tom Brady lost almost $30 million in FTX stock, made urgent call to company during fallout CBS News

🔐 More than 200 organizations have been targeted in MOVEit-related breaches Axios

Trafficking

🚚 The Taliban Are Now Arms Dealers Foreign Policy

🚚 U.S. opens new immigration path for Central Americans and Colombians to discourage border crossings CBS News

🚚 Declaring war on Mexican cartels is popular. That doesn’t mean it’s smart Washington Post

🚚 Mexican authorities raid pharmacies in inquiry into fentanyl-tainted pills LA Times

“You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don’t do too many things wrong.” – Warren Buffet

📩

Share Illicit Edge with friends!

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