Greetings! It’s March 21, and we’re tracking today's top stories: The ugly truth about Russia's missing money, 5-hour Energy billionaire named in Senate Swiss bank tax probe, New York's $4.4B shoplifting shadow economy, Mexican drug cartel targets timeshares, and much more...

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Featured Story

🎯 The ugly truth about Russia’s missing money. Western democracies are giving Vladimir Putin so much cash that he’s having to hide it. New Statesman

📌 Washington pressures Austria's Raiffeisen to drop Russian tycoon deal Reuters

Top Stories

🌎 5-hour Energy billionaire named in Senate Swiss bank tax probe. Manoj Bhargava maintained undeclared bank accounts worth hundreds of millions at the Swiss bank Pictet. CNBC

📌 New data shows IRS’s 10-year struggle to investigate tax crimes ICIJ

🌎 New York’s $4.4B shoplifting shadow economy revealed — fueled by eBay and Facebook Marketplace. Thieves and middlemen are selling shoplifted goods on resale sites and filling warehouse spaces at illegal pawn shops. NYP

🌎 A Mexican Drug Cartel’s New Target? Seniors and Their Timeshares. One of Mexico’s most powerful criminal groups runs call centers that offer to buy retirees’ vacation properties. Then, they empty their victims’ bank accounts. NYT

🌎 North Korean Crypto Hackers Have Stolen $3B Since 2017. A UN panel is investigating 17 crypto heists in 2023, for which North Korea may have been responsible. CoinDesk

🌎 Israelis Craft Secret Plan to Put Anti-Hamas Palestinians in Charge of Gaza Aid. The effort faces vehement opposition from Hamas while also dividing Israel’s leadership. WSJ

🌎 Antwerp retains its title as Europe’s cocaine capital. Use of ketamine and MDMA is also on the rise around Europe, according to findings from EU drugs agency. Politico

🌎 GOP Budget Proposal Touts Toughest Iran Sanctions in History and Eradication of ‘Woke’ Military Programs. The proposal highlights glaring gaps between the Biden administration and Republicans on defense spending. Free Beacon

🌎 LA Dodgers fire Shohei Ohtani's interpreter amid allegation of 'massive theft'. The interpreter was fired after questions surrounding $4.5M in wire transfers sent from Ohtani's bank account to a bookmaking operation. ESPN

🌎 US taxpayer money is flowing to the Taliban: Government report reveals American cash is getting into terrorist hands through $3B UN plan and bundles of notes delivered to Kabul. Daily Mail

IN THE NEWS

Sanctions & Regs

💥 Global Sanctions Dashboard: How Hamas raises, uses, and moves money Atlantic Council

💥 Commerce Export Controls and Treasury Sanctions U.S. Commerce Dept

💥 U.S. Sanctions Russians Behind 'Doppelganger' Cyber Influence Campaign Hacker News

💥 U.S. Imposes New Sanctions on Iran's Military Procurement Networks VOA

💥 UK-sanctioned oil trader enlists ex-Biden aide to thwart potential US sanctions FT

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Russia

🇷🇺 Russia says EU frozen assets plan is theft, will lead to decades of lawsuits Reuters

🇷🇺 Putin's war fired up Russia's economy and beat sanctions — but big problems lie ahead BI

🇷🇺 US security company challenges Wagner group’s hegemony in its African stronghold El País

🇷🇺 Car industry insists 2,000% increase in sales to Azerbaijan has nothing to do with Russia Sky

Much more news at Illicit Edge!

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Corruption & Financial Crime

💸 Biden cancels $6B in student loan debt for 78,000 public service workers Reuters

💸 JPMorgan accuses TransUnion subsidiary of stealing trade secrets Reuters

💸 Rubiales tells Spanish court he will return from Caribbean, cooperate with corruption probe AP

💸 Mike Lynch Jury Told of Staff Fired After Raising Red Flags Bloomberg

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Trafficking

🚚 TikTokker tells illegal immigrants how to ‘invade’ American homes and invoke squatter’s rights NYP

🚚 Man pleads guilty in eagle ‘killing spree’ on reservation to sell feathers on black market AP

🚚 Arrests of migrants with criminal records up 340% Border Report

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China

🇨🇳 Chinese Banks Tighten Financial Noose Around Russia Newsweek

🇨🇳 Huawei’s Return Is Case Study in U.S. Power—and Its Limits WSJ

🇨🇳 China is under unprecedented US, EU pressure over Russian payments Reuters

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Crypto & Cyber

🔐 Former takeaway worker found with £2B worth of Bitcoin convicted of money laundering Telegraph

🔐 SEC probing crypto companies in Ethereum investigation as hopes for ETF dim Fortune

🔐 The cyber war in Ukraine is as crucial as the battle in the trenches Economist

🔐 Hackers claim to have breached Israeli nuclear facility’s computer network Record

Much more news at Illicit Edge!

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