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Hello Thursday!  It’s May 30, and we’re tracking today's top stories: China weighs record fine for PwC over Evergrande, Hidden Road cuts client access to crypto venue Bybit, how America inadvertently created an ‘Axis of Evasion’ led by China, U.S. response to Binance exec's detention is shameful, and much more...   

Featured Story

🎯 China Weighs Record Fine for PwC Over Evergrande Auditing Work. PwC is under the spotlight after China launched one of the its biggest financial fraud investigations in history. Bloomberg 

Top Stories

🌎 Hidden Road Stops Offering Clients Access to Crypto Venue Bybit. The move was sparked by disagreement over Bybit’s KYC and AML requirements. Bloomberg

🌎 How America Inadvertently Created an ‘Axis of Evasion’ Led by China. Western sanctions and export controls were meant to subdue foes of the U.S. but instead have led to a shadow economy. WSJ

🌎 The U.S. Response to Binance Exec Tigran Gambaryan's Detention Is Shameful. The financial crimes compliance leader and U.S. citizen is being wrongfully detained in Nigeria. CoinDesk

🌎 To restrain Putin in Ukraine, tighten sanctions. Western nations can do more to weaken Russia’s determination to gain ground. WaPo

📌 Treasury Sanctions Wagner Group-linked Companies in the Central African Republic U.S. Treasury

🌎 European powers seek action against Iran at IAEA meeting despite US concerns. Britain, France and Germany have circulated a draft resolution against Iran ahead of the U.N. nuclear watchdog's board meeting. Reuters

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🌎 Hezbollah Launches Donation Campaign to Purchase Missiles, Drones. The terrorists provide fundraising telephone numbers and encourage civilians to “be part of the battle”. Asharq Al-Awsat

🌎 U.S. Treasury Describes NFTs as 'Highly Susceptible to Use in Fraud and Scams'. Treasury determined that NFT platforms "lack appropriate controls" to combat money laundering and sanctions evasion. CoinDesk

📌 Treasury Releases First Ever Non-fungible Token Illicit Finance Risk Assessment U.S. Treasury

🌎 Gold worth tens of billions smuggled to the UAE each year. $35B per year of gold goes undeclared and is then smuggled out of the country. CNBC

🌎 FBI Takes Down Massive Global Army of Zombie Computer Devices. The FBI has dismantled the world’s largest botnet — an army of 19M infected computers. Bloomberg

🌎 Fishing Boats and Cargo Ships: How Colombian Cocaine Travels the World. 431 cases took place on large ships, encompassing roughly 265 metric tons of cocaine. OCCRP

IN THE NEWS

Russia

🇷🇺 Russian disinformation sites linked to former Florida deputy sheriff NBC

🇷🇺 Iran supplying Russia with latest drone-launched glide bombs Telegraph

🇷🇺 To help Airbus, Macron pressed Canada to ease Russia titanium sanctions Reuters

🇷🇺 Sweden May Block Russian LNG If Hungary Scuppers EU Sanctions Bloomberg

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China

🇨🇳 How Ashley Hinson's 'Farm Bill' provision could stop China's buy out of U.S. farmland Daily Mail

🇨🇳 Bill would give Commerce Department the ability to ban Chinese-made vehicles Record

🇨🇳 US accuses China's leadership over Ukraine, delivers new sanctions warning Reuters

🇨🇳 China Chipmakers Catching Up Fast in AI Bloomberg

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Corruption & Financial Crime

💸 Hundreds of phones and bags of cash: Inside the UK's biggest benefit fraud BBC

💸 Millions in suspicious transactions tie South Africa’s ruling party to a controversial Swazi archbishop ICIJ

💸 The ICC’s propaganda war on Israel Washington Examiner

💸 As Civil War Consumes Black Lives Matter, $8.7M Goes Missing Free Beacon

There's much more news at Illicit Edge...

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