Hello! It’s October 24, and we’re tracking today’s top stories: Beirut hospital evacuates after Israel accuses Hezbollah of stashing $500M underneath, crime boss Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch is arrested in Spain, Meet ZachXBT, the masked vigilante tracking down billions in crypto scams, new Washington influence industry is making millions from sanctions, and much more…

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🎯 Beirut Hospital Evacuates After Israel Accuses Hezbollah of Stashing $500M Underneath.  Lebanese health officials denied there was a bunker filled with cash and gold; Israel said the accusation is based on solid intelligence. WSJ

Top Stories

🌎 Crime boss Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch is arrested in Spain as part of international money laundering investigation. It comes a day after a number of searches were carried out in Ireland and Spain. Daily Mail

🌎 Meet ZachXBT, the Masked Vigilante Tracking Down Billions in Crypto Scams and Thefts. He just untangled a $243 million bitcoin theft, what may be the biggest-ever crypto heist to target a single victim. Wired 

🌎 New Washington influence industry is making millions from sanctions.  Prominent former U.S. officials are signing on to represent oligarchs, authoritarians and corporate interests eager to shape America’s sprawling system of economic warfare. WaPo 

🔐 Partner Policy Brief: Defending U.S. Democracy Against Crypto–Driven Foreign Interference in the 2024 Presidential Election Illicit Edge 

🌎 Influence campaigns from Iran, China, Russia ramping up ahead of elections.  Microsoft found that Iranian hackers are looking for vulnerabilities in election-related websites. Politico

💸 How do we protect our democracy from corruption and foreign threats? Brookings 

🌎 US and G7 allies moving forward with $50B loan package to Ukraine, including $20B from the US backed by frozen Russian assets. If the White House cannot reach an agreement with Congress securing requisite authorities, it would provide the full loan amount as economic aid. CNN

🌎 Dark Fleet Oil Tanker Caught in Recent Collision Heads to China. Ceres I, an aging very-large crude carrier that’s suspected of transporting sanctioned oil, is enroute to Zhoushan in eastern China. Bloomberg

🌎 Can US and its allies monitor North Korea sanctions? Moscow's partnership with Pyongyang makes evading sanctions easier. DW

🌎 French authorities seize $75M of assets tied to Russian businessmen. Eight properties, including villas in the French Riviera, and two luxury cars were seized as part of a money laundering probe. ICIJ 

🌎 ‘Gangster’ Is Blowing Up India-Canada Relations – From Behind Bars. Why authorities see Lawrence Bishnoi, a hero in his Indian village, as the head of a global crime network accused of murder and extortion. WSJ

🌎 BLM Collected Over $90M in Donations. Where Did It Go? As its leaders spent the money on tailored suits, birthday parties, and ‘big ass’ mansions, almost none of it went to the cause. Free Press 

🌎 DHS is seeking more than 600 migrants for possible ties to Venezuelan gang. Some could later be found to be victims, witnesses or members of the gang. CNBC 

🚩 Treasury Sanctions Sudanese Armed Forces Weapons Procurement Director U.S. Treasury

Russia

🇷🇺 Russia pushes ‘new world order’ agenda as it hosts beefed-up BRICS summit CNBC 

🇷🇺 Palladium Jumps After US Suggests Sanctions on Russian Exports Bloomberg

🇷🇺 Russia detains former, current deputy energy ministers in fraud probe Reuters 

🇷🇺 Moldovan police say pro-Russian tycoon Shor channelled $39M to bribe voters Reuters

China

🇨🇳 Sanctions by the Numbers: Comparing the Trump and Biden Administrations’ Sanctions and Export Controls on China CNAS 

🇨🇳 HSBC Hong Kong joins China’s alternative to Swift global payments system FT

🇨🇳 China's Hesai to press on with US lawsuit after being reinstated on blacklist Reuters

🇨🇳 Chinese publisher who gave world The Three-Body Problem under corruption cloud SCMP 

🇨🇳 China opposes US sanctions on companies over attack drones for Russia Reuters

Corruption & Financial Crime

💸 Venezuelan TV mogul Gorrín charged again with money-laundering millions in Miami MH

💸 Funeral home owners accused of storing 190 decaying bodies expected to plead guilty to COVID-19 fraud AP 

💸 Leading 'Youth Gender Dysphoria' Doctor Stalls Publication of Study, Voicing Concerns Opponents Will 'Weaponize' Results Free Beacon

💸 Jurors set to hear first of 200 secret recordings in Madigan corruption trial CST

Crypto & Cyber

🔐 Chinese trader laundered more than $17M for Lazarus Group in 25 hacks Cointelegraph

🔐 ChatGPT can be tricked into telling people how to commit crimes CNN 

🔐 Radiant Capital hacker moves $52M worth of crypto funds into Ethereum Crypto News 

🔐 Location tracking of phones is out of control. Here’s how to fight back. Ars

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