Plus: Iran détente circus supercharged Hamas, empowered illicit actors, and destabilized world...
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10/17/23

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Hello.  It's October 17, and we're tracking today's top stories: Iran ballistic missile sanctions to expire, Biden cuts China off from Nvidia chips, Tether freezes crypto wallets tied to terror, appeasement of Iran comes to head, and much more...

Featured Story

 

🎯 Victory for Tehran: Biden to allow Iran UN sanctions on ballistic missile program to expire. This coming Wednesday is the so-called "Transition Day" when the expiration of the UN’s embargo against Iran’s ability to procure and sell missiles and drones goes into effect. Fox News 

 

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Top Stories

 

💥 Biden to cut China off from more Nvidia chips, expand curbs to more countries. The rules restrict a broader swathe of advanced chips and chipmaking tools to a greater number of countries including Iran and Russia, and blacklist Chinese chip designers Moore Thread and Biren. Reuters

 

💥 Tether freezes 32 crypto wallets holding $870K linked to terrorism and warfare in Israel, Ukraine. Tether’s newly named CEO, Paolo Ardoino, said, “Contrary to popular belief, cryptocurrency transactions are not anonymous; they are the most traceable and trackable assets. CNBC

 

💥 Appeasing Iran Has Failed. Obama and Biden’s effort at détente with Tehran destabilized the entire region and emboldened Hamas. WSJ

 

💥 SOCAR And Lukoil Seal Unique Oil Deal Despite Western Sanctions. The unusual agreement is structured to overcome the problems SOCAR was facing in purchasing Russian crude oil for its STAR refinery due to the sanctions. Oil Price

 

💥 Italy arrests 58 suspected of drug trafficking via Chinese money brokers. Italian authorities highlighted the growing role played by money brokers to conceal cross-border payments by drug cartels. Reuters

 

💥 China tightens curbs on foreign travel by bankers, state workers. China in recent months has encouraged citizens to participate in anti-espionage activity, and introduced new laws that broadened the definition of spying. Reuters

 

💥 Hamas’ social media following has skyrocketed since its attack. Hamas is a designated foreign terror organization in the United States, and new internet laws in the European Union mean large social media platforms can face penalties for hosting terroristic content. CNN

 

💥 US Treasury inks cybersecurity agreement with United Arab Emirates. The memorandum of understanding signed by the Treasury Department and the UAE’s Cyber Security Council calls for increased information sharing about digital threats to the financial sector. Record

 

💥 SBF was raised in a fraud cluster. Sam Bankman-Fried is the kind of fraud that Silicon Valley specializes in producing: the philosopher con artist. New York Magazine

 

💥 Trump sues ex-British spy over dossier containing 'shocking and scandalous claims'. Trump sued company founded by Christopher Steele, who created a dossier in 2016 that contained rumors and uncorroborated allegations about Trump that erupted in a political storm just before he was inaugurated. AP

 

💥 El Chapo’s Sinaloa drug cartel bars fentanyl production under penalty of death. The order comes as the Sinaloa Cartel has expressed concerns about the US law enforcement pressures and future arrests of its top leaders. Daily Mail

IN THE NEWS

Sanctions Chaos

 

🤡 Sanctioned Billionaire Fridman Able to Take the Bus Bloomberg

 

🤡 EU Maintains Iran Nuclear Deal Sanctions AFP

 

🤡 US envoy calls North Korea-Russia relations worrying after alleged arms transactions Reuters

 

🤡 US and Venezuela set to agree deal on sanctions relief and open elections Guardian

 

🤡 Russia expects Venezuela's Maduro to visit as relations deepen Reuters

 

🤡 US Escalates Sanctions as China Touts Its Own ChatGPT Bloomberg

 

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China & Russia

 

📌 BRI Boosts Beijing Efforts to Expand Influence in Latin America VOA

 

📌 The new Wagner? Russian mercenary group recruits Prigozhin’s ex-fighters Politico

 

📌 China Invested $1 Trillion to Gain Global Influence NYT

 

📌 Volkswagen picks firm for Xinjiang site labour audit Reuters

Corruption & Financial Crime

 

💸 The Great Cash-for-Carbon Hustle New Yorker

 

💸 Californians plead guilty in $600 million nationwide catalytic converter theft scheme AP

 

💸 SEC Obtains Emergency Relief To Halt Nearly $130 Million Fraud Targeting Indian American Community SEC

 

💸 Can a Donor Revolt Save American Universities? Free Press

Crypto & Cyber

 

🔐 How Iran’s ominous threats could take on cyber life Politico

 

🔐 Ransomware tracker: The latest figures Record

 

🔐 Former Top FTX Executive Testifies He Knew $8B of Customer Money Was Missing CoinDesk

 

🔐 Genesis Ordered to Comply With Terra Subpoena Within 5 Days CoinDesk

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