Hello Saturday! It’s September 19, and we’re tracking top stories to take you through the weekend: UAE, Sweden Arrest Seven Over $7.1M Crypto Laundering Ring Linked to Contract Killings, Gemini Hacked Three Companies in First Known Breakout by Google’s AI, Iran's 'New Hezbollah’, $130B Payment Giant Airwallex in Congressional Crosshairs Over U.S. Data Risks, and much more…

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Breaking News for FinCrime Professionals
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🎯 FEATURED STORY

UAE, Sweden Arrest Seven Over $7.1M Crypto Laundering Ring Linked to Contract Killings. The network handled about 70 million Swedish krona ($7.1 million), over ten months, dealing in cash proceeds from criminal activity and redirecting them to other criminal entities, while using crypto "to transfer and move the value of those funds." Decrypt

🔥 TOP STORIES

Gemini Hacked Three Companies in First Known Breakout by Google’s AI Wall Street Journal

Iran's 'New Hezbollah:' How powerful are the Houthis now? DW

China Ties – $130B Payment Giant Airwallex in Congressional Crosshairs Over U.S. Data Risks U.S. House Select Committee on China

Former Vitol oil trader sentenced to four years in US prison over Ecuador and Mexico bribery Reuters

Crypto tech provider Haruko hit by cyberattack affecting 15 clients, some funds lost CoinDesk

Iran’s Isolation Grows After U.S. Imposes Sweeping Sanctions on Airlines New York Times

Hill investigates after F-35 parts diverted to Hong Kong Politico

"God Helped Us, So Will AI": How Boko Haram Used ChatGPT, Grok For Attacks NDTV

USDA’s Operation SNAP Back Hits the Five Boroughs USDA

Christine Lagarde Helped Block Binance’s Foothold in Europe Wall Street Journal

Counter-terrorism operation leverages artificial intelligence to identify 126 terrorism suspects INTERPOL

Trump claims Don Jr. paid back Russian oligarch who spent hundreds of thousands on his wedding New York Post

North Korean "WaterPlum," commonly referred to as "Contagious Interview," Cyber Actor Group Targeting IT Professionals FBI IC3

UK watchdog targets three London sites suspected of illegal crypto trading Reuters

Trickbot hacker wanted by Germany served as adviser to deputy chair of Russia’s State Duma The Insider

🚩 RUSSIA & CHINA

US military had close call after using AI for false intelligence report CNN

Russia Aims to Inject Chaos Into Elections, U.S. Intelligence Finds New York Times

The U.S. and China Want AI Guardrails. But Their Ideas Couldn’t Be More Different. Wall Street Journal

Kremlin seizes Nestlé’s assets in Russia as crackdown on private business grows CNN

Nations take action on North Korean IT workers after UN report Record

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🚀 SANCTIONS & TERROR

Turkey approves liquidation of US-sanctioned Golden Global's funds Reuters

Trump Wants Putin to End the War. He May Offer Russia Business Deals First. New York Times

Expiration of Emergency With Respect to the Situation in Ethiopia; Issuance of Amended Russia-related General License and Associated Frequently Asked Questions OFAC

France arrests far-right policeman suspected of planning terror attack Le Monde

Lebanon charges 5 in alleged Hezbollah operation to train Assad loyalists Al-Monitor

Why Al-Qaeda Is Bringing Hamza bin Laden Back Small Wars Journal

Abu Zubaydah: Man accused of ties to bin Laden has 20-year Guantanamo detention reviewed AP

💸 CORRUPTION & FINANCIAL CRIME

Scammers get creative with AI voice cloning Axios

Fugitive Brookside actor arrested in Spain over £13.6 million fraud The Independent

Iraq Sentences Former Electricity Director General to Seven Years for Illicit Enrichment OCCRP

West Dallas Man Pleads Guilty to $15 Million Bank Fraud DOJ

Ponzi schemer who defrauded Travis Kelce tried to marry U.S. citizen to avoid deportation NBC News

Former Bank Employee Who Targeted Elderly Victims in Identity Theft and Fraud Scheme Sentenced to a Decade in Prison DOJ

🔐 CRYPTO & CYBER

An Undercover Google Analyst Infiltrated a Notorious Supply Chain Hacking Gang WIRED

CFTC files crypto asset rulemaking with White House, pressing ahead without Congress The Block

Foreign hackers target Colorado water systems Axios

Hackers Used Anthropic’s Claude to Break Into OpenAI Wall Street Journal

Anatomy of an AI-powered hack Semafor

🚚 TRAFFICKING

In a U.S. and Mexican war on screwworm, horse smugglers expose cracks in the front Globe and Mail

Top DOJ official warns of deadly smuggling route after 42 vanish at sea Fox News

D.A. Bragg Announces Return Of 147 Antiquities To The People Of Türkiye, Pakistan, And Thailand Manhattan DA

Bosnia Seizes 1.1 Tons of Synthetic Drugs Worth Up to €33 Million OCCRP

US military moving drones to South America ahead of anticipated counternarcotics operations CNN

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

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