Happy Friday!  It’s March 8, and we’re tracking top stories and reports to take you into the weekend: UK MoD paid millions into Saudi account amid BAE corruption scandal, lawmakers urge Secretary of State Blinken to ban travel to China's Xinjiang, DOJ offers more rewards to corporate whistleblowers, Republican billionaire bullies lawmakers to protect his TikTok investment, and much more...

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🎯 British MoD paid millions into Saudi account amid BAE corruption scandal. Documents show officials stressing need to ‘keep the Saudis on side’ after revelations about notorious al-Yamamah deal. Guardian

Top Stories

🌎 US lawmakers urge Blinken to ban travel to China’s Xinjiang. They also ask three US travel agencies to stop offering tours to the region to avoid perpetuating ‘atrocity crimes.’ RFA

🌎 DOJ to offer more rewards to corporate whistleblowers. The department is particularly interested in information on criminal abuse of the U.S. financial system, as well as foreign and domestic corruption. Reuters

📌 Enforcers Place Emphasis on Punishing Repeat Corporate Offenders WSJ

🌎 Republican billionaire with $33B TikTok stake ‘bullies’ lawmakers to stop bill forcing sale. Hedge fund manager Jeff Yass is personally calling Republican members of the House to try to halt legislation which would force ByteDance to divest itself of the app. NYP

🌎 Oil Tanker Caught Up In Iran-U.S. Dispute Over Sanctions. Tehran said it will confiscate the cargo of the Advantage Sweet, which was transporting oil from Kuwait to Texas, in retaliation for crippling American sanctions. RFE

📌 US threatens action against Iran at IAEA over continued 'stonewalling' Reuters

🌎 Binance must face revived investor lawsuit in US over crypto losses. A federal appeals court revived a lawsuit where investors accused Binance of violating U.S. securities laws. Reuters

🌎 Microsoft says Russian hackers stole source code after spying on its executives. Nobelium group is attempting to use secrets to further breach the software giant and potentially its customers. Verge

🌎 Huawei Chip Breakthrough Used Tech From Two US Gear Suppliers. Shanghai-based SMIC used gear from California-based Applied Materials and Lam Research to manufacture an advanced 7-nanometer chip for Huawei in 2023. Bloomberg

🌎 Behind the doors of a Chinese hacking company, a sordid culture fueled by influence, alcohol and sex. Private hacking contractors are companies that steal data from other countries to sell to the Chinese authorities. AP

🌎 France Probing Corruption Tied to Billionaire Drahi’s Altice. France’s Parquet National Financier is looking into suspicions of corruption of individuals who don’t hold public office, money laundering and attempts to conceal these offenses. Bloomberg

🌎 Europe’s drug gangs open ‘torture rooms,’ arm kids with AK-47s. The massive narcotics trade across the continent is fueling ‘unprecedented’ levels of violence. Politico

🌎 Public Schoolers Are Paid $1,400 a Pop to Become Social Justice Warriors. A California activist group is using taxpayer money to reward teens for learning how to fight for ‘racial justice.’ Free Press

IN THE NEWS

China

🇨🇳 China Prepares $27B Chip Fund to Counter Growing US Restrictions Bloomberg

🇨🇳 Shein UK breaches company law by failing to disclose human owner Guardian

🇨🇳 Army intelligence analyst charged with selling military secrets to contact in China for $42,000 CBS

🇨🇳 Netherlands Proposes Stronger EU Export Control Coordination After ASML Episode Bloomberg

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Russia

🇷🇺 Russia to Bolster Famed Eastern Railroads as China Trade Booms Bloomberg

🇷🇺 Spate of Mock News Sites With Russian Ties Pop Up in U.S. NYT

🇷🇺 Yandex, Polymetal shareholders set to approve major Russian exit deals Reuters

🇷🇺 India uncovers trafficking racket duping people into fighting for Russia in Ukraine Reuters

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Corruption & Financial Crime

💸 How Hackers Dox Doctors to Order Mountains of Oxy and Adderall 404

💸 NYC public servants accused of stealing identities of homeless in pandemic fraud scheme AP

💸 Corruption cases, telco scams surge in China Straits Times

💸 Ancelotti denies wrongdoing after Spanish prosecutors accuse him of tax fraud AP

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Trafficking

🚚 Border Crossing Secrets Revealed by Human Smugglers Newsweek

🚚 €30 Billion EU Drug Market Is Wily and Strong OCCRP

🚚 Migrant charged with Laken Riley’s murder easily entered US despite links to bloodthirsty gang NYP

🚚 Mexico’s most dangerous city for police refuses to give up or negotiate with cartels AP

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Crypto & Cyber

🔐 Terra’s Do Kwon to Be Extradited to South Korea Instead of US CoinDesk

🔐 Ransomware gang claims to have made $3.4M after attacking children’s hospital Record

🔐 Attack wrangles thousands of web users into a password-cracking botnet Ars

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Reports & Resources

📘 Wildlife Seizure Dashboard C4ADS

📘 Confronting China: Constructing a Transatlantic Tech Strategy CEPA

📘 China’s Semiconductor Industry Advances despite U.S. Export Controls CSIS

📘 Anti-corruption progress at the Summit for Democracy is essential to safeguarding democracy Brookings

📘 Soft Power with Teeth: Looking Beyond Military Action in Solving the Fentanyl Crisis Georgetown

Much more news at Illicit Edge!

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