Hello!  It’s April 24, and we’re tracking today's top stories: Russian court orders seizure of JPMorgan funds in VTB lawsuit, senators file amicus brief defending constitutionality of Corporate Transparency Act, Spain accidentally releases drug lord who planned to kill heir to Dutch throne, ten anacondas rescued from man with snakes in suitcase, and much more...  

Discover more top stories at Illicit Edge!

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🎯 Russian court orders seizure of JP Morgan funds in VTB lawsuit. The court said it had ordered the seizure of all funds in JP Morgan bank accounts in Russia, including correspondent accounts. Reuters

Top Stories

🌎 Senators file amicus brief defending constitutionality of Corporate Transparency Act. Brief urges the 11th Circuit to reverse the district court’s judgment. U.S. Senate

🌎 Spain accidentally releases drug lord who planned to kill heir to Dutch throne. Gang kingpin skips town after judicial mix-up. Politico

🌎 Ten anacondas rescued from man flying from Bangkok to Bengaluru with snakes in suitcase. India arrested a passenger smuggling 10 yellow anacondas. Independent

📌 Luxury handbag designer jailed for wildlife smuggling, making merchandise out of protected species ABC

🌎 China’s Oil Buyers to Weather Tighter US Sanctions on Iran. So-called teapot refiners are already bracing for increased scrutiny. Bloomberg

🚀 Industry News: ComplyAdvantage Acquires Golden, Expanding Financial Crime Intelligence Offering ComplyAdvantage

🌎 Tether vows to freeze assets after Venezuela looks to crypto to bypass oil sanctions. USDT-issuer Tether says it will block payments made to OFAC-sanctioned entities. Cointelegraph

🌎 France Arrests Eight In PKK Financing Probe. French prosecutors claim they were preparing and financing terrorist acts. AFP

🌎 US will not impose sanctions on Netzah Yehuda Battalion. Pressure from Israeli politicians appears to have succeeded in pushing the US to step back. JP

🌎 Head of Mexico's detective service says his country is the 'champion' of fentanyl production. López Obrador has hotly denied that any fentanyl is produced in Mexico. Newsday

🌎 Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao Should Spend 3 Years in Prison. CZ originally faced up to 18 months in prison under the terms of his plea agreement. CoinDesk

IN THE NEWS

Russia

🇷🇺 How US and allies might use Russia's frozen assets to aid Ukraine Reuters

🇷🇺 Russia Lifts 2024 Growth Forecast as Economy Rides Sanctions Bloomberg

🇷🇺 Russia Detains Deputy Defense Minister Over Corruption Suspicions AFP

🇷🇺 Moldova Charges Governor Who Met With Putin in Corruption Probe Bloomberg

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China

🇨🇳 Chinese Knockoff Raid Jolts a Global Throng of Fake-Fashion Influencers Bloomberg

🇨🇳 China acquired recently banned Nvidia chips in Super Micro Reuters

🇨🇳 China’s ex-Tibet propaganda chief charged with bribery SCMP

🇨🇳 China’s Attempts to Censor Global Academia HRF

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Iran & Latam

📌 Biden DOE Collaborated With Scientist From Iranian University Sanctioned for Illicit Nuclear Work Free Beacon

📌 Ex-Ecuador official found guilty of laundering millions in Odebrecht bribes in Miami Miami Herald

📌 Iran Homing In On Africa With Trade Promises, Chaos RFE

📌 Prosecutors Allege Scheme to Supply Venezuelan Oil Company With Aircraft Parts Reuters

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Corruption & Financial Crime

💸 Criminals and oligarchs in EU’s sights with new bill targeting football fraud Guardian

💸 Appaloosa Sues Credit Suisse Over $17B AT1 Bond Wipeout Bloomberg

💸 In Georgia, an Opposition MP Voted With the Ruling Party. Then His Family Won Two Land Disputes. OCCRP

💸 Big Banks Face Probe Over NDAs in Swaps, Clearing Businesses Bloomberg

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Crypto & Cyber

🔐 US glacial response to Nigeria’s detention of former IRS crypto investigator rankles federal agents Record

🔐 Do Kwon, Terraform Labs Should Get $5.3B Fine CoinDesk

🔐 Crypto.com Postpones South Korea Launch After Reports of AML Probe CoinDesk

🔐 Major Security Flaws Expose Keystrokes of Over 1B Chinese Keyboard App Users Hacker News

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Trafficking

🚚 23 arrested in Bosnia on suspicion of ties to global drug kingpin AP

🚚 Cocaine haul worth more than £20M found in ship's hull by specialist divers Sky

🚚 Swedish customs seize 1.4 tons of cocaine AP

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Sanctions

💥 EU Weighs Sanctions on Firms Shipping Weapons Tech to Russia Bloomberg

💥 Airbus wins reprieve from Canadian sanctions on Russian titanium Reuters

💥 US sanctions militant leaders over hostages in West Africa Reuters

💥 US charges, sanctions Iranians linked to IRGC cyber command Reuters

''We are never definitely right, we can only be sure we are wrong."
--Richard Feynman

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