Happy Friday!  It’s April 5, and we’re tracking top stories to take you into the weekend: TikTok turns to nuns and ranchers in anti-ban marketing blitz, Russian military is almost completely reconstituted despite sanctions, huge mafia fronts threaten Europe, crypto and Rolexes seized in massive Covid fraud raid, and much more...

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🎯 TikTok Turns to Nuns, Veterans and Ranchers in Marketing Blitz. The video app is spending millions on ads as Congress considers a bill that could lead to a U.S. ban. NYT

📌 A TikTok Whistleblower Got DC’s Attention. Do His Claims Add Up? Wired

Top Stories

🌎 Russian military almost completely reconstituted. China, Iran, and North Korea have helped their partner endure global sanctions and military setbacks in the last two years. Defense News

🔑 Sanctions by The Numbers: The Russian Energy Sector CNAS

🌎 Cartels, mafias and gangs in Europe are using fruit companies and hotels as fronts. Europol has identified 821 particularly threatening criminal networks with more than 25,000 members. CBS

🌎 Lamborghini and Rolexes seized in massive EU police raid over €600M Covid fraud. Cops said the organized crime group used AI to produce false documents for laundering cash. Politico

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🌎 US criminal case against China's Huawei heads toward 2026 trial. Huawei was indicted in 2018 on bank fraud charges of misleading HSBC about its business in Iran. Reuters

🌎 Plight of detained U.S. Binance staffer has deteriorated in Nigeria. Gambaryan pioneered crypto tracing during his time at the IRS, working on the takedown of Silk Road. Fortune

🌎 US, EU eye Chinese legacy chips in renewed semiconductor accord. The two sides concluded a two-day session of their Trade and Technology Council with a 12-page joint statement. Reuters

📌 Export Controls Are a New National Security Focus — What That Means for Banks Blank Rome

🌎 Volt Typhoon and 4 other groups targeting US energy and defense sectors through Ivanti bugs. Several China-based hacking groups are targeting a trio of vulnerabilities affecting IT giant Ivanti alongside multiple cybercrime operations. Record

🌎 Charlamagne tha God blasts DEI as ‘mostly garbage and ‘just corporate PR’ in ‘Daily Show’ monologue. “The Breakfast Club” cohost said 900 studies have indicated that DEI programs don’t improve workplace conditions. NYP

🌎 Letitia James is suing the world’s biggest meat company. It might be a tipping point for greenwashing. Letitia James’s lawsuit accuses JBS of deceiving customers about being climate-friendly – and the implications could be far-reaching. Guardian

🌎 Bolster sanctions to stop Iran’s growing military space capabilities. Iran’s recent SLV launches, and its purported ability to put multiple satellites into space, are troubling for four main reasons. Defense News

🌎 Eye-patch-clad ‘frail’ billionaire crook Joe Lewis, 87, dodges prison for insider trading. The Bahamas-based investment magnate was allowed to walk free in July after posting a $300M bond secured by his $250M yacht and personal plane. NYP

🌎 Trafigura Admits Its Founder Claude Dauphin Approved Bribes. Dauphin, who led Trafigura until his death in 2015, was a totemic figure in the company and wider trading industry. Bloomberg

🌎 Vigilante Hacker Took Down North Korea’s Internet. Now He’s Taking Off His Mask. As “P4x,” Alejandro Caceres single-handedly disrupted the internet of an entire country. Wired

🔑 SARs Annual Statistical Report UK FIU

IN THE NEWS

Russia

🇷🇺 Russia summons South Korean ambassador in protest over sanctions Reuters

🇷🇺 Turkey’s Trade Boom With Russia Stalls Under Weight of Sanctions Bloomberg

🇷🇺 Russia Abandoned by Allies as US Tightens Sanctions Noose Newsweek

🇷🇺 Russia-Made Warships Set to Join India’s Navy, Despite Sanctions Bloomberg

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China

🇨🇳 China will use AI to disrupt elections in the US, South Korea and India, Microsoft warns Guardian

🇨🇳 Chinese Biotech Company Enlists Firm of Bob Casey’s Brother in Bid To Stay off U.S. Blacklist Free Beacon

🇨🇳 Erasing Memories, Concealing Evidence: China’s Efforts to Obscure the Uyghur Genocide Diplomat

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Crypto

🔐 Terraform Labs was 'built on lies' SEC says as civil trial nears end Reuters

🔐 PayPal Enables Stablecoin-To-Fiat Option for International Money Payments Decrypt

🔐 Ripple to launch U.S. dollar stablecoin, taking on a $150B market dominated by Tether, Circle CNBC

🔐 EU Watchdog Says Reordering Blockchain Transactions Might Be Market Abuse CoinDesk

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Corruption & Financial Crime

💸 Two arrested in Spain money laundering probe linked to Venezuelan government Reuters

💸 LA thieves steal $30M in cash from safe without setting off any alarms Guardian

💸 ‘Game Of Thrones’ Joseph Gatt Hits LA, DA, & Police With $40M Suit Over False Pedophile Claims Deadline

💸 Armani company put in receivership amid labor exploitation probe Reuters

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Trafficking

🚚 Drug gangs behind rise in shootings in EU capital Brussels Reuters

🚚 New Docs Show Oregon Dem’s Support for Shady Cannabis Grant Daily Beast

🚚 Senate border bill would upend US asylum with emergency limits and fast-track reviews AP

🚚 Colorado community threatens to fine, seize buses that drop off illegal immigrants Fox

🚚 Major cocaine seizure on Jersey-registered boat BBC

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