In partnership with

Greetings! It’s June 8, and we’re tracking today’s top stories: China tracked protesters with TikTok ‘god credential’, Feds arrest January 6th insurrectionist ‘Bob’s Burgers’ actor, Instagram’s staggering pedophilia content, China’s secret spy base in Cuba, and much more…

Tell your friends they can join Illicit Edge for free!

Featured Story

🎯China tracked Hong Kong protesters with TikTok ‘god credential.’ CCP officials used the backdoor access to monitor key data linked to Hong Kong protesters and personal communications on TikTok. [more]

Top Stories

🔸Feds Finally Arrest Insurrectionist ‘Bob’s Burgers’ Actor. Jay Johnston, an actor whose credits include TV work on Arrested Development, Bob’s Burgers, and Mr. Show, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with felony obstruction in connection to the Jan. 6 insurrection. [more]

🔸Meta vows to take action after report found Instagram’s algorithm promoted pedophilia content. Academics from Stanford's Internet Observatory and UMass's Rescue Lab were able to quickly find "large-scale communities promoting criminal sex abuse." [more]

🔸Cuba to Host Secret Chinese Spy Base Focusing on U.S. China and Cuba have reached a secret agreement for China to establish an electronic eavesdropping facility on the island, in a brash new geopolitical challenge by Beijing to the U.S. [more]

🔸Lawmakers blast US plans to include Hong Kong's sanctioned leader at APEC summit. US Treasury said in 2020 Lee was involved in "coercing, arresting, detaining, or imprisoning individuals" under the authority of a Beijing-imposed national security law. [more]

🔸Catching Russia Sanctions Busters – From Orbit. Commercial satellite assets have begun to produce data that has become increasingly adept at mitigating the so-called dark ship problem. [more]

🔸Binance lawyers allege SEC Chair Gensler offered to serve as advisor to crypto company in 2019. Earlier this week, the SEC filed 13 charges against Binance, alleging the company failed to register as an exchange and broker-dealer. [more]

🔸All About the Deep-Pocketed Saudi Wealth Fund That Rocked Golf. Though the fund has long been an outsize presence in financial circles, the deal that stunned the golf world has turned a Klieg light on a Saudi business that has been described as one of the most opaque in the world. [more]

🔸It’s James Comer’s grit vs. Biden’s grift as family corruption scandal intrigue heats up. Director Christopher Wray has been thumbing his nose at congressional oversight in a way that demands reprimand, which is exactly what Comer is delivering. [more]

🔸Reward offered for man who sold criminals encrypted phones, unaware they were tracked by the FBI. The State Department posted the hefty reward for Maximilian Rivkin, who has escaped arrest since the 2021 takedown of the ANOM network. [more]

🔸US announces reward for information on Swedish national charged with drug trafficking. Rivkin was among 17 foreign nationals whom U.S. authorities indicted in 2021 over alleged links to distributing thousands of encrypted communication devices to criminal syndicates. [more]

StoneTurn assists companies, their counsel and government agencies on regulatory, risk and compliance issues, investigations, and business disputes. We serve our clients from 15 global offices across five continents. Learn more.

IN THE NEWS

Russia & China

🔸A Russian cyber gang is threatening to publish the payroll data of 100,000 people. MOVEit is a business software owned by US-based Progress Software, which helps firms share files via their intranets. Clop has now penetrated it to access databases, including banking records, of several companies. [more]

🔸Britain steps up sanctions against Belarus for its support of Russia. Britain announced a new sanctions package against Belarus, including import bans and new measures aimed at preventing internet propaganda. [more]

🔸US takes aim at China over Latin America trade tactics and fentanyl role. A State Department official testified that most fentanyl seized in the U.S. “is trafficked through Mexico using diverted precursor chemicals sourced from the People's Republic of China.” [more]

🔸Germany triggers EU investigation into Chinese biofuels. EU incentives for biodiesel production made with waste oils and fat to increase renewable energy use have caused concerns that companies in Asia are mixing biofuels with cheaper oils and exporting them to Europe. [more]

Corruption & Financial Crime

🔸Ken Paxton Impeachment Prosecutor: We’ve Got a Slam Dunk Case. Two defense attorneys tasked with nailing the Texas AG say the details are astounding. [more]

🔸Guo Wengui, Chinese billionaire and Steve Bannon associate, to go to trial in 2024 in fraud conspiracy. Federal authorities arrested Guo in March on that he defrauded thousands of online followers out of over $1 billion. [more]

🔸Former Italian PM investigated in Colombian armament corruption case. Police searched the offices and homes of a former Italian premier and several leading business executives in an investigation of alleged corruption involving the sale of military planes, ships and submarines to Colombia. [more]

Crypto

🔸Coinbase has no plan to delist tokens named in SEC lawsuit, CEO says. The country's largest crypto exchange is putting itself at the front of a lengthy legal battle that could lead to sweeping changes across the industry. [more]

🔸Manhattan D.A.’s Office Seizes Scam Cryptocurrency Recovery Site. Coin Dispute Network not only kept its fees but extracted additional Ethereum from their customers by making false promises of asset recovery and generated inaccurate blockchain tracing reports to victims. [more]

🔸Do Kwon Claims to Have Backed Political Party in Montenegro. Kwon and Terraform Labs’ former CFO were arrested at Montenegro's Podgorica airport in March while attempting to travel to Dubai with allegedly forged documents. [more]

"A day without sunshine is like, you know, night." -- Steve Martin

📩

Share Illicit Edge with friends!

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