Hello Saturday! It’s February 8, and we’re tracking top stories to take you through the weekend: American Express closes 30 accounts tied to Iran, a silver bullet for Russia sanctions, leaked document says ‘large scale’ immigration enforcement action coming to L.A., Trump DOJ disbands task force targeting Russian oligarchs, and much more…

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American Express closed 30 accounts tied to Iran. It also ended its relationship with a third-party ATM network provider, which was connected to an Iranian bank sanctioned by the U.S. government. Reuters

🔥 TOP STORIES

A Silver Bullet for Russia Sanctions? CEPA 

🧐 Do U.S. Sanctions Really Work? Illicit Edge

Leaked document says ‘large scale’ immigration enforcement action coming to L.A. LAT

Trump administration disbands task force targeting Russian oligarchs Reuters

💰 How Russia launders its money in the U.S. Illicit Edge

Trump ready to double down on Russian sanctions NYP 

Brink’s Unit to Pay $42M to Settle DOJ, Treasury Claims WSJ

Trump’s First Iran Sanctions Hit Three Ships in China Trade Bloomberg

Tornado Cash Developer Alexey Pertsev Released From Jail to Prepare for Appeal CoinDesk

Trump signs order imposing sanctions on the ICC AP

US warns of sanctions against Rwandan and Congolese officials over conflict Reuters

USAID Gifted a Cement Factory to Hamas – How $310M in U.S. Taxpayer Money Helped Create Gaza Terror Tunnels Global Disconnect

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🇨🇳 CHINA

Gen Z ‘nihilism’ over Chinese tech fears shows gulf with Washington Semafor

🛠️ How China is Stealing U.S. Military Secrets Illicit Edge

China lashes out at US ‘coercion’ after Panama declines to renew infrastructure agreement AP

China’s Oil Teapots Cut Runs to Pandemic Levels After Sanctions Bloomberg

Tencent Shouldn’t Participate in Paramount Merger, Senator Says Bloomberg

🇷🇺 RUSSIA

How the USAID collapse helps Putin Semafor 

Russian Company Behind Egypt Wheat Cargo Sold ‘Stolen’ Ukraine Grain OCCRP

Russia’s spies, in retaliation against the CIA, urge Americans to get in touch Reuters

UK MPs push for probe into Russian billionaire’s $1B tax dodge ICIJ

💸 CORRUPTION & FINANCIAL CRIME

Venezuela calls US seizure of plane 'brazen theft' BBC 

💰 How Venezuela Became So Corrupt Illicit Edge

Trump orders freeze of aid to South Africa, citing country’s land expropriation law Politico

Former GW Bush aide says a Uzbek businessman hired him to lobby for U.S. sanctions on a local business rival ICIJ

Ohtani’s ex-interpreter sentenced to nearly 5 years for bank and tax fraud PBS

🔐 CRYPTO & CYBER

U.K. orders Apple to let it spy on users’ encrypted accounts WaPo 

House GOP hears crypto firms on Operation Choke Point 2.0 Axios 

HPE begins notifying data breach victims after Russian government hack TC 

SEC Says Game Service Roblox Part of ‘Active Investigation’ Bloomberg

🚚 TRAFFICKING

What to Know About Canada’s Role in the Fentanyl Crisis NYT 

💥 Networks That Fuel the Fentanyl Crisis Illicit Edge 

ICE makes staggering 11K illegal migrant arrests in just 18 days NYP

Record-breaking wildlife seizures underline importance of security collaboration Traffic

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

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