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$308M Bitcoin Heist, FinCEN Bliss, and Chinese Fentanyl Brokers

Illicit Edge - Edition for December 25, 2024

Merry Christmas! It’s December 25, and we’re tracking today’s top stories: North Korean hackers pull off $308M Bitcoin heist, U.S. appeals court allows anti-money laundering law to be enforced, the shadowy ‘brokers’ helping Mexico’s cartels smuggle fentanyl chemicals from China, Iran oil tycoon ‘Hector’ plays key role in arms sales to Russia, and much more…

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Featured Story

🎯 North Korean Hackers Pull Off $308M Bitcoin Heist from Crypto Firm DMM Bitcoin.  TraderTraitor is a persistent threat activity cluster that targets companies in the Web3 sector, luring victims into downloading malware-laced crypto apps. Hacker News

Top Stories

🌎 U.S. appeals court allows anti-money laundering law to be enforced Reuters

🌎 The shadowy ‘brokers’ helping Mexico’s cartels smuggle fentanyl chemicals from China Reuters 

🌎 Iran Oil Tycoon ‘Hector’ Plays Key Role in Arms Sales to Russia Bloomberg 

🌎 Student Terrorism National Review 

🌎 Will Biden give Putin a lump of coal? Politico 

🌎 Key Putin oligarchs still profiting from trade with Europe, despite sanctions The Insider

🌎 FCC ‘rip and replace’ provision for Chinese tech tops cyber provisions in defense bill Record 

🌎 Brazil shuts down BYD factory over ‘slavery’ concerns BBC 

🌎 Colombia, the world’s largest exporter of mercenaries El Pais 

🌎 Trump’s Panama Canal threats, money-laundering claims, and a hotel battle Independent 

🌎 Bank of America was slapped with a consent order over AML weaknesses Quartz

🌎 What now for Syria’s £4.5bn illegal drug empire BBC 

🌎 Inside Operation Destabilize: How a ransomware investigation linked Russian money laundering and street-level drug dealing Record

IN THE NEWS

Russia

🇷🇺 Russia’s multibillion-dollar revenue stream may soon grind to a halt Fortune

🇷🇺 Russian ship under US sanctions sinks after engine room blast BBC

🇷🇺 BMW confirms luxury cars were sold to Russian buyers despite sanctions Euro News 

🇷🇺 Luxury Western goods line Russian stores, three years into sanctions AFP

🇷🇺 Switzerland adopts more EU sanctions on Russia and Belarus Swissinfo

China

🇨🇳 Canada condemns China's steps against Canadian institutions over Uyghurs, Tibet Reuters 

🇨🇳 Biden Team to Probe Chinese Chips, Setting Up Trump for Tariffs Bloomberg 

🇨🇳 Biden signs Pentagon budget bill that extends sanctions on Hong Kong officials SCMP 

🇨🇳 China's WuXi to sell Advanced Therapies unit amid U.S. restrictions Reuters

Corruption & Financial Crime

💸 Turkish-born construction executive named in Adams indictment pleads guilty Politico 

💸 How prosecutors’ evidence mistakes could let Menendez walk away from corruption charges Politico

💸 The heart of British democracy is a crime hotspot Politico

💸 U.S. accuses Rocket Homes of illegal kickbacks in mortgage scheme CNN 

💸 Louis Bacon, PJT Partners Settle Dispute Over Caspersen Fraud Bloomberg

Crypto & Cyber

🔐 Honey, the popular browser extension promoted by MrBeast and over a thousand YouTube channels, accused of being a scam Fortune

🔐 FTC orders Marriott and Starwood to implement strict data security Verge

🔐 WhatsApp scores historic victory against NSO Group in long-running spyware hacking case TechCrunch 

🔐 North Korean hackers spotted using new tools on employees of 'nuclear-related' org Record 

🔐 Crypto Exchange’s Outflows Swell on North Korean Trader Concern Bloomberg

Trafficking

🚚 Drug lord Fabio Ochoa walks free in Colombia after 20 years in US prisons AP 

🚚 The red line that Trump wants to cross in the fight against Mexican cartels El Pais 

🚚 Mexico's president may be toughening fight with drug cartels Reuters 

🚚 Rapid test to give Hong Kong officials new weapon to fight shark fin trade SCMP

“If you haven't got any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble.” —Bob Hope

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