Happy Friday!  It’s May 24, and we’re tracking top stories to take you into Memorial Day weekend: Unjustly imprisoned Binance head of financial crimes compliance Tigran Gambaryan's trial delayed due to serious illness, North Korean golfers sport sanctions-blocked Nike apparel, 5 killed in attack at Acapulco grocery store, EPA funnels millions in climate funds to radicals, and much more...    

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Featured Story

🎯 Binance Money Laundering Trial in Nigeria Pushed to June 20 Due to Executive’s Illness. Head of financial crimes compliance Tigran Gambaryan is seriously ill. CoinDesk 

Top Stories

🌎 North Korean golfers sport sanctions-blocked Nike apparel. Video shows a golfer clad in white, putter in hand, with the iconic swoosh logo on his pants and shoes. RFA

🌎 5 killed in attack at Acapulco grocery store just days after 10 other bodies found in Mexican resort city. Criminal gangs are involved in drug trafficking, people smuggling, extortion, and fuel theft. CBS

🚚 How Mexico’s cartels infiltrated the tortilla business News Nation

🚚 In Mexico, a wave of political murders eats away at democracy Reuters

🌎 The Radicals Getting Your Tax Money. Who could have thought that taxpayer funds would flow to a group that thinks “climate justice” involves freeing Palestine and dismantling capitalism? WSJ

🌎 $50B US-EU deal for Ukraine is in sight. G7 nations are coalescing around a plan to use frozen Russian assets to secure an enormous loan. Politico

📌 Putin Allows U.S. Assets in Russia to Be Seized for Retaliation Bloomberg

📌 EU to sanction 9 Iranian entities for supplying drones to Russia Reuters

📌 Counter Terrorism and Iran-Related Designations Removals and Updates OFAC

🌎 GOP Senate Candidate Spent Thousands in Donor Funds on Strip Clubs, Luxury, and Mysterious Wire Transfers. Star athlete and conspiracy theorist Royce White just landed the Minnesota GOP’s endorsement for Senate. Daily Beast

🌎 British-Chinese bitcoin money launderer jailed for over 6 years. Wen admitted to controlling a bitcoin wallet on behalf of her boss but claimed ignorance of its contents. CoinDesk

🌎 Mystery Around Who Was Trying to Sell Graceland Remains After Court Rules in Presley Family’s Favor. No one from the company making moves to sell the landmark property turned up to court. Hollywood Reporter

🌎 A real estate mogul bought her way into the NYC mayor’s inner circle – and then the favors started. Weihong Hu raised money for Eric Adams’s campaign while winning favorable regulatory decisions and city contract funds. Guardian

🌎 U.S. To Review Relations With Georgia, Slaps Visa Bans On Officials Over 'Foreign Agent' Law. Georgia was given EU candidate status in December but has yet to start the accession negotiations. RFE

Visit Illicit Edge for much more financial crime news...

IN THE NEWS

Russia

🇷🇺 Putin hijacked Austria’s spy service. Now he's going after its government Politico

🇷🇺 The scheme was to export a machine made in CT to Russia – Feds stopped it before it got there. Hartford Courant

🇷🇺 The Economic Impact of Sanctions Against Russia - Fact and Fiction (Pod) RUSI

🇷🇺 Russia says secondary sanctions are hurting export revenues, oil payments Reuters

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China

🇨🇳 'CHAT XI PT': China builds Xi Jinping AI chatbot to control ‘thoughts, politics and actions’ of citizens while US rivals are blocked Sun

🇨🇳 Why US Semiconductor Export Controls Backfire Diplomat

🇨🇳 China’s Buying of Key Russian Oil Could Be Lowest Since 2021 Bloomberg

🇨🇳 China jails former Three Gorges chief Cao Guangjing for life for taking bribes SCMP

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Corruption & Financial Crime

💸 'A Failed Medical School': How Racial Preferences, Supposedly Outlawed in California, Have Persisted at UCLA Free Beacon

💸 ICC: 20 years, billions spent, limited success as US considers sanctions Fox

💸 US political consultant indicted over AI-generated Biden robocalls CBS

💸 Barcelona Bribery Charges Quashed In Referee Corruption Case AFP

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Crypto & Cyber

🔐 He Trained Cops to Fight Crypto Crime – and Ran a $100M Dark Web Drug Market Wired

🔐 Hacker Breaches Scam Call Center, Warns Victims They've Been Scammed 404

🔐 The U.S. International Cyberspace and Digital Policy Strategy U.S. State Dept

🔐 Microsoft’s UAE deal could transfer key U.S. chips and AI technology abroad Reuters

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Trafficking

🚚 Jordanian who tried to breach Marine Corps Base Quantico was in US illegally Fox

🚚 Senate downs border bill for second time Hill

🚚 Indiana beauty queen arrested in Mexican cartel bust that included one of feds’ most wanted fugitives Fox

🚚 Italy-led Operation Busts Crime Ring Spanning Europe OCCRP

"Some people live an entire lifetime and wonder if they have ever made a difference in the world. A veteran does not have that problem."
–Ronald Reagan

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