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Hello Wednesday!  It’s May 1, and we’re tracking today's top stories: Austrian officials warn Raiffeisen off Russian oligarch deal, TD takes $450M provision in U.S. money laundering probe, 'Bitcoin Jesus' indicted for tax fraud, U.S. officials call on companies to exit Xinjiang, and much more...

Catch up on all the news any time at Illicit Edge!

Featured Story

🎯 Austrian officials warn Raiffeisen off Russian oligarch deal. The biggest Western bank in Russia wants to buy a stake in construction group Strabag linked to Oleg Deripaska for $1.6B. Reuters  

Top Stories

🌎 TD Takes $450M Provision in U.S. Money Laundering Probe. TD’s in discussions with three U.S. regulators plus the DOJ to settle the matter – $450M is related to talks with just one. Bloomberg

🌎 Roger Ver Indicted for Tax Fraud. The man called "Bitcoin Jesus" did not pay capital gains on hundreds of millions of dollars he raised in selling bitcoin in 2017. CoinDesk

🌎 U.S. labor official calls on companies to exit China's Xinjiang. Chinese officials continue to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang. Reuters

🌎 Victoria Jacobs Sentenced To 18 Years In Prison For Using Crypto To Fund Syrian-Based Terrorist Groups. Jacobs provided material support to Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, a U.S. State Department-designated FTO. Manhattan DA

🌎 New York Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Unlawfully Export Dual-Use Electronics Used in Russian Military Drones. NY Company Received Over $250,000 from Sanctioned Russian Entity to Purchase and Export Electronics. DOJ

🌎 China May Be Preparing to Deploy Economic 'Nuclear Option'. By intentionally devaluing the yuan, China could boost exports by making its goods cheaper and more competitive – worsening the country's trade war with the U.S. Newsweek

🌎 How a Few Secret Donors Are Fueling the New Right-Wing Infrastructure. The Bradley Impact Fund helps finance the work of groups led by Michael Flynn and Stephen Miller. Most of the money can be traced to four undisclosed sources. Mother Jones

🌎 How Changpeng Zhao's 'Good Guy' Reputation Secured a 4-Month Prison Sentence. Judge Richard Jones pored over the voluminous letters of support for the ex-CEO of Binance until the book they were contained in literally fell apart. CoinDesk

🌎 The Taliban are working to woo tourists to Afghanistan. Foreigners are visiting the country from hubs like Dubai for vacations in an unusual destination. AP

🌎 Change Healthcare hackers broke in using stolen credentials – and no MFA. Change Healthcare processes health insurance and billing claims for around half of all U.S. residents. TechCrunch

🌎 Global banking regulators target mismanagement in handling risks from clients. The Basel Committee, made up of banking regulators from the G20, said banks needed to improve how they manage counterparty credit risks. Reuters

🌎 Iran Commutes Death Sentence For Sanctions-busting Tycoon. Billionaire tycoon pocketed $2.8B while circumventing US-led sanctions for the oil ministry. AFP

IN THE NEWS

Russia

🇷🇺 Senate Passes Russian Uranium Import Ban, Sending to Biden Bloomberg

🇷🇺 Japan Tobacco rides out sanctions on Russia with reshaped supply chain FT

🇷🇺 Serbia Names US-Sanctioned, Pro-Russian Politicians as Ministers Balkan Insight

🇷🇺 The Russian 'spy', the NSA mole and the FBI sting that got him BBC

🇷🇺 Bulgarian Distrust of Russia Simmers Over a Black Sea Oil Terminal NYT

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China

🇨🇳 TikTok, Tesla Show US-China Battle Over Data Is Just Beginning Bloomberg

🇨🇳 CBP is interrogating TikTok employees Verge

🇨🇳 This Chinese virologist shared crucial Covid-19 data. Then his research hit hurdles. CNN

🇨🇳 Biden replaces Obama-era infrastructure protections to defend against Chinese cyberthreats CNBC

🇨🇳 AI in Africa opens up new battlefront for China, US Semafor

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Corruption & Financial Crime

💸 Elder fraud tops $3.4B as schemes targeting people over 60 rise CNN

💸 Brother of Mexican drug lord 'El Mencho' released Reuters

💸 Why is Bob ‘Gold Bars’ Menendez still sitting in the US Senate? NYP

💸 She Was Convicted of Making a Bank Her Personal ATM – and Sentenced to Death WSJ

💸 Congressional report reveals how big oil engaged in disinformation Semafor

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Crypto & Cyber

🔐 Crypto Was One of the Biggest Money Laundering Risks in 2022-2023 CoinDesk

🔐 The Dangerous Rise of GPS Attacks Wired

🔐 Tens of millions secretly use WhatsApp despite bans BBC

🔐 China-Linked 'Muddling Meerkat' Hijacks DNS to Map Internet on Global Scale Hacker News

🔐 Man Who Mass-Extorted Psychotherapy Patients Gets Six Years Krebs

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Trafficking

🚚 DHS docs reveal where paroled migrants under controversial Biden flight program are landing Fox

🚚 Colombia's Petro says armed forces' bullets, missiles stolen due to corruption Reuters

🚚 Top Cocoa Producer Ivory Coast Suspects Fraud in Fairtrade Beans Bloomberg

🚚 Lottery bids for skilled-worker visas plunge in the US after changes aimed at fraud and abuse AP

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