Happy Monday! It’s December 2, and we’re tracking top stories to start the week: Trump threatens 100% tariff on BRICS countries if they pursue new currency, Mexican cartels lure chemistry students to make fentanyl, debanking tech founders, China is studying Russia’s sanctions evasion to prepare for Taiwan conflict, and much more…

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🎯 Trump threatens 100% tariff on BRICS countries if they pursue new currency. Using BRICS currencies and banking networks outside the US dollar-denominated system could enable sanctions evasion. CNN

Top Stories

🌎 Mexican Cartels Lure Chemistry Students to Make Fentanyl. Criminals turn college campuses into recruitment hubs, recruiting chemistry students in Mexico with big paydays. NYT

🌎 Debanking and tech founders. Investor Marc Andreessen set off a firestorm last week when he said dozens of tech executives were quietly "debanked" during the Biden administration. Axios

🌎 China Is Studying Russia’s Sanctions Evasion to Prepare for Taiwan Conflict. Officials report back to Beijing with lessons it can use in the event of war and Western penalties. WSJ 

🚩 Trump mustn’t go wobbly on Russia: Sanctions are working – time to double down. NYP

🌎 President Biden pardons his son Hunter. The decision is a reversal for the president, who repeatedly said he would not use his authority to pardon his son. NBC 

🌎 India's Adani says his group is committed to compliance after U.S. bribery and fraud charges. Adani said the allegations by the U.S. DOJ and SEC against directors of Adani Green were baseless. AP

🌎 Millions of Americans Have Failed to Comply With New Tax Ownership Rules. Three-quarters of the 32 million private companies and pass-through entities that are required to file ownership information this year haven’t done so. Barron’s 

🌎 Nigeria restarts $35M money laundering case against Binance. Tigran Gambaryan, who heads Binance’s financial crime compliance, was detained in Nigeria for eight months on trumped up charges. CoinGeek

🎙️Illicit Edge Originals: Bring Tigran Home – An American Unjustly Detained in Nigeria Designated with Yaya Jata Fanusie

🌎 Swiss wealth manager Lombard Odier indicted on money laundering charges. The accused helped conceal the proceeds of a criminal organization set up by the daughter of the president of Uzbekistan who died in 2016. CNBC 

🌎 Venezuela targets opposition with bill that codifies economic sanctions as crimes against humanity. The bill implicitly targets leading opposition leaders who’ve supported sanctions as a means to pressure the government into negotiations. AP

🌎 Two Tennessee tax preparers charged with stealing $65M in Covid relief. Renata Walton and Nicole Jones were indicted on 50 counts of defrauding the federal government. NBC 

🌎 LVMH Billionaire Bernard Arnault, the ‘Shark’ and a Den of Spies Laid Bare in Paris Courtroom. Arnault sought to distance himself from what prosecutors allege was a yearslong intelligence-gathering operation that targeted his foes. WSJ

Russia

🇷🇺 Russia’s ruble is still worth less than a penny, and the Kremlin’s piggy bank is running low Fortune 

🇷🇺 Sanctioned Russian Tycoon is Back to Lead World Fencing Body Bloomberg

🇷🇺 Stoli Brand Vodka’s US Arm Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Bloomberg

🇷🇺 Omani firm replaces sanctions-hit Alrosa in Angolan diamond miner Reuters

China

🇨🇳 China promises 'countermeasures' to U.S. arms sale to Taiwan Fox 

🇨🇳 Uniqlo faces calls for boycott in China after CEO’s Xinjiang cotton comment Independent 

🇨🇳 Mexico Kicks Off Operation to End Flow of Illegal Chinese Items Bloomberg

Corruption & Financial Crime

💸 TD Bank taps HSBC Canada's former chief compliance officer Reuters

💸 Wise took up remediation plan in Europe over AML controls Reuters

💸 Sheer hypocrisy as FIFA commits biggest act of sportswashing in its history Telegraph

💸 9 charged in alleged $20M multi-state money laundering scheme UPI

💸 Reputed head of crime family narrowly misses out on Dublin parliament seat Reuters

Crypto & Cyber

🔐 Ex-Binance Executive Brings Whistleblower Claim Alleging Bribery Bloomberg

🔐 Trump’s Return Heralds Litigation Peace for Crypto WSJ 

🔐 Russia arrests cybercriminal Wazawaka for ties with ransomware gangs Bleepingcomputer

Trafficking

🚚 Executions and rehab: Saudi Arabia dials up its ‘war on drugs’ FT 

🚚 NYC is now home to over 58K ‘criminal’ migrants – including more than 1,000 gang members NYP 

🚚 2 Canadians arrested for drug trafficking; $40 million of cocaine seized from truck in Illinois CBS

“You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war.” —Napoleon

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