Greetings! It’s February 15, and we’re tracking top stories to take you through the weekend: Barclays under investigation over money laundering controls, proof of government fraud, welcome to Hamassachusetts, how far a wife went to keep her $2M Ponzi scheme a secret, and much more…

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🎯 FEATURED STORY

Barclays under investigation over money laundering controls. The City watchdog, led by Nikhil Rathi, its chief executive, is conducting a civil enforcement investigation against the bank. Telegraph

The Three Steps to Money Laundering Illicit Edge

🌎 TOP STORIES

So You Want Proof of Government Fraud WSJ

How Trump’s DOJ has gutted the government’s ability to chase corruption CNN

Welcome to Hamassachusetts Free Press

Tensions Over FBI’s Work on Hamas Case Spill Into the Open NYT

How far would a wife go to keep $2M Ponzi scheme a secret? ABC

Iran is rearming its missile program and a ship of supplies just arrived from China CNN

Vance Wields Threat of Sanctions, Military Action to Push Putin Into Ukraine Deal WSJ

🔥 Do Sanctions Really Work? Illicit Edge

DOJ moves to dismiss Eric Adams case after extraordinary internal revolt NBC

U.S. Coast Guard ship offloads $275M of cocaine CBS

Crypto kings cheer Trump’s ‘debanking’ crackdown NYP

Farage explores criminal claim over NatWest debanking Sky

Inside the Global Online Betting Empire of a Slain Turkish Cypriot Businessman OCCRP

Inside the private estate of VTB president Andrey Kostin and his propagandist mistress The Insider

A 'death cult' on the run: The Bay Area fringe group terrorizing America SFGate

🚩 RUSSIA & CHINA

Chinese Companies Work Around Trump to Keep Selling to Americans WSJ

🔥 Rise of China vs the U.S. Financial System Illicit Edge

Half of Sanctioned Russian Oligarchs Win Appeals in Western Courts MT

How Bloomberg Philanthropies Is Boosting Belt and Road Initiative Free Beacon

Hacker Group Within Russia’s Sandworm Unit Is Breaching Western Networks Wired 

Latest U.S. sanctions on Russia throw global oil trade into disarray Reuters 

UK targets sons of Putin’s senior officials with new sanctions The Insider

Russia gets its first African naval base in Sudan Semafor

💸 CORRUPTION & FINANCIAL CRIME

Corporate Transparency Act Challengers Assail Law in New Filing Bloomberg 

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry paying big bucks to Dem operatives via their charity – sparking calls for investigation NYP

Slapped With Sanctions, Georgian Oligarch Ivanishvili Brings Assets Home OCCRP 

Syria's new leaders zero in on Assad's business barons Reuters

Ukraine sanctions ex-president Poroshenko on ‘national security’ grounds CNN

🔐 CRYPTO & CYBER

Binance's $1.5B Fine Accounted for Almost All of DOJ's Record-Setting 2024 Decrypt

China’s Salt Typhoon hackers continue to breach telecom firms despite US sanctions TC 

U.S. SEC case against crypto exchange Binance put on hold Reuters

AI-driven biometric fraud surges in Africa, fueling financial crimes VOA

Russian-Linked Hackers Using 'Device Code Phishing' to Hijack Accounts Hacker News

🚚 TRAFFICKING

Thousands of DHS agents shift to deportation instead of drugs, weapons and human trafficking USAT 

Mexico threatens to escalate U.S. gunmakers lawsuit with terror charges Guardian 

Prominent Miami defense lawyer charged in DEA bribery scheme AP

“Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder.” —George Washington

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