Plus: U.S. Hits Top Chinese Chipmaker in Huawei Tech Supremacy Fight, Tightening Export Controls...
View in browser

2/21/24

Illicit Edge logo

Hello Wednesday!  Itโ€™s February 21, and weโ€™re tracking today's top stories: U.S. to hit Russia with major sanctions over Navalny murder, American ballerina detained for treason in Russia, lawmakers urge Biden to abandon TikTok account, U.S. targets China's top chipmaking plant over Huawei tech, and much more...

 

Let's learn together.  Ask your friends to subscribe to Illicit Edge here!

 

--

  

In partnership with

Sandbar Logo (1)

Simplify AML, supercharge your team. See how.

Featured Story

 

๐ŸŒŽ U.S. to hit Russia with 'major sanctions' for Navalny murder. Biden plans to unveil the sanctions package Friday. USA Today

 

Top Stories

 

๐ŸŒŽ American ballerina Ksenia Karelina detained for 'high treason' in Russia. The accusations against Karelina could be punishable by up to 20 years in prison. LAT

 

๐ŸŒŽ Republican lawmakers urge Biden to deactivate campaign TikTok account. โ€œHow can the federal government warn Americans about the risks of this app if the Commander in Chief uses it, too?" Reuters

 

๐ŸŒŽ US targets China's top chipmaking plant after Huawei Mate 60 Pro. Biden is turning up the heat by cutting off its most advanced factory. Reuters

๐Ÿ”ฅ Powered by Sandbar

 

Save time and eliminate redundant, unnecessary alerts through our intelligent screening of your clients, transactions, and their counterparties. See a demo.

๐ŸŒŽ In โ€œFalse Transitโ€™ Loophole, Russiaโ€™s War Machine Is Supplied Through Kazakh Companies and Belarusian Warehouses. A Kazakh company ordered high-tech semiconductor production equipment from Europe and had them delivered to a Belarusian storage facility. OCCRP

 

๐ŸŒŽ Pro-war Russian businessman to take over Danone's Russian assets. Itโ€™s the latest Western asset transfer into Kremlin-friendly hands at a heavily discounted price. Reuters

 

๐ŸŒŽ Indicted ex-FBI informant told investigators he got Hunter Biden dirt from Russian intelligence officials. Prosecutors said Smirnov has been โ€œactively peddling new lies that could impact US elections...โ€ CNN

 

๐ŸŒŽ Texas sues NGO aiding migrants, accuses it of encouraging illegal immigration. AG Paxton seeks to have the group's registration revoked. Fox

 

๐ŸŒŽ Iran dismisses plan by U.N. nuclear watchdog head to visit next month. IAEA head says Iran continues to enrich uranium well beyond the needs for commercial use. Reuters

 

๐ŸŒŽ India Regulator Finds $241M Accounting Issue at Zee. Itโ€™s ten times the amount initially estimated by Sebi investigators. Bloomberg

 

๐ŸŒŽ Dominion wins access to Newsmax journalists' texts in its defamation case. The ruling is a blow to the conservative news organization, which avoided the mandate in a similar case. NBC

 

๐ŸŒŽ Crypto Industry Steps Up Attacks on Warrenโ€™s Anti-Crime Bill. โ€œThis bill, if passed, will erase hundreds of billions of dollars in value for US startups and decimate the savings of countless Americans invested in this asset class legallyโ€. Bloomberg

IN THE NEWS

Sanctions

 

๐Ÿ’ฅ EU agrees 13th round of Russia sanctions Politico

 

๐Ÿ’ฅ EU Targets Chinese Firms, DPRK in New Russia Sanctions AFP

 

๐Ÿ’ฅ UK sanctions six Russians running Arctic prison where Navalny died Politico

 

๐Ÿ’ฅ Russia adds Lindsey Graham to list of โ€˜terroristsโ€™ Politico

 

๐Ÿ’ฅ Iran Keeps Port Traffic Confidential Amid Sanctions Iran International

 

--

 

Russia

 

๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ Aluminum Surges as White House Plans Fresh Sanctions on Russia Bloomberg

 

๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ Russia says it shipped 200K tons of free grain to six African countries Reuters

 

๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ Wife of Ukrainian-Russian businessman Khan loses UK sanctions challenge Reuters

 

๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ Russia Ships Urals Oil to Venezuela, Expanding Pool of Buyers Bloomberg

 

Much more news at Illicit Edge!

--

 

China

 

๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ Biden to sign EO on U.S. port cybersecurity targeting Chinese cranes CNBC

 

๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ Turkey detains six people accused of spying on Uyghurs for China Semafor

 

๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China Responds to Possible Sanctions for Helping Russia Newsweek

 

๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ Chinese local authorities warn public of crypto-related scams amid broader crackdown Block

 

--

 

Corruption & Financial Crime

 

๐Ÿ’ธ Biden to forgive $1.2B in student debt for over 150K borrowers CNBC

 

๐Ÿ’ธ Tax records reveal the lucrative world of Covid misinformation WaPo

 

๐Ÿ’ธ Investigation into corruption inside Paris 2024 set to loom over Olympic Games Independent

 

๐Ÿ’ธ Border Patrol's second-highest official opts to retire amid sexual misconduct allegations NBC

 

--

 

Crypto & Cyber

 

๐Ÿ” SBF due in court for hearing on lawyer's possible conflict Reuters

 

๐Ÿ” Alex Mashinsky waives right to โ€˜conflict-free representationโ€™ Cointelegraph

 

๐Ÿ” Brussels spyware bombshell Politico

 

--

 

Trafficking

 

๐Ÿšš Trump and allies plotting militarized mass deportations WaPo

 

๐Ÿšš Australia holds Chinese man over suspected North Korea tobacco smuggling BBC

 

๐Ÿšš US Sees China Taking 'Concrete Steps' to Counter Drug Trade VOA

 

Much more news at Illicit Edge!

Sandbar Logo (1)

Simplify AML, supercharge your team.
See how.

๐Ÿ“ฉ

Share Illicit Edge with friends!

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

The Illicit Edge, P.O. Box 20559, New York, NY 10025

Manage preferences