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Greetings! It’s September 19, and we’re tracking today’s top stories: Danske to pay $7M over Estonia money laundering, U.S. Treasury targets DPRK-Russia sanctions scheme, DOJ sees whistleblower claims flow in, how a con man stole millions to buy Bentleys and a cafe, and much more…

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Featured Story

🎯 Danske Bank to Pay $7M in French settlement over money laundering. The deal with French authorities wraps up probes into the bank’s former Estonia branch. AFP

Top Stories

🌎 Treasury Targets Key Actors in Sanctions Evasion Scheme to Support Russia and North Korea. With mounting losses on the battlefield and deepening international isolation, Russia has become increasingly dependent on the DPRK for weapons. U.S. Treasury

🌎 DOJ Sees Tips Flow in Over First Month of Pilot Whistleblower Program. The program has named an acting director and has assembled a team of prosecutors from three units. WSJ

💸 Tax Tipsters Getting $74M Shows IRS Progress Bloomberg 

🌎 Fraud factor: How a con man stole millions in a payroll-lending scheme to buy Bentleys, plastic surgery and a café. Mickey Lee found a loophole in how factoring companies work to steal $5M. Marketwatch

🌎 Crypto Hack Alert: How Cencora Was Forced to Pay $75M to Cybercriminals. The hackers at the beginning of the attack asked for $150M from the company. Coinpedia 

🌎 DOJ disrupts vast Chinese hacking operation that infected consumer devices. The hacking campaign known as Flax Typhoon installed malicious software on 200,000 consumer devices. AP

🚩 Iranian hackers sent stolen Trump campaign info to Biden campaign CNN 

🌎 Internal watchdog says State mishandled Iran envoy’s clearance. In at least one case, State took actions to spare Rob Malley from “potential embarrassment.” Politico

🌎 New iPhone 16 unveiled in Russia as retailers skirt Apple's export ban. Foreign brands that halted exports to Russia now take circuitous routes to reach consumers. Reuters 

🌎 A Cocaine Kingpin and the Rise of Drug Crimes in Europe. Organized crime was considered a remote threat in much of Western Europe, but violence is now rattling the peace in the world’s safest societies. WSJ

🌎 Hungarian firm linked to pagers that exploded in Lebanon, Syria. More attacks were reported Wednesday, when walkie-talkies and solar equipment exploded. AP

🌎 A Closer Look at North Korea’s Enrichment Capabilities and What It Means. A reason for the high uncertainty is that we don’t know how many centrifuge facilities North Korea has. 38 North 

🌎 WazirX Hacker Moves $32M Stolen Ether in Four Days to Tornado Cash. WazirX founder claimed that the ultimate owner of the crypto exchange was Binance - a statement the latter has denied. CoinDesk 

📌 Statement of Dara Daniels, Associate Director of FinCEN’s Research and Analysis Division U.S. Treasury

Russia & China

💥 Western nations have bought $2B in Russian oil this year through sanctions workarounds Fox

💥 YMTC Refines Chip Tech With Chinese Tools Bloomberg

💥 Massive China-state IoT botnet went undetected for four years - until now Ars

💥 Ugly Divorce, Russia’s Richest Woman and a Deadly Shooting in Moscow NYT

💥 Russian insurance shores up oil exports to top buyer India Reuters

💥 Russia tried to stage coup in Armenia Politico

💥 Did a Chinese University Hacking Competition Target a Real Victim? Wired

Corruption & Financial Crime

💸 Former SDNY Prosecutor’s Read on the Diddy Indictment NY Mag 

💸 US Issues Fresh Iran Sanctions Over Human Rights Violations Reuters

💸 NYC lawyer admits he gamed immigration system in plea that could force him to pay $16M in restitution NYP 

💸 Venezuela opposition leader says he was forced to sign letter accepting Maduro victory Guardian

Trafficking

🚚 Dominican and US officials crack down on regional drug trafficking ring AP

🚚 Dozens of Border Agents Investigated for Smuggling, Assault and Bribery Newsweek

🚚 Migrants from around the world are reaching the U.S. via charter planes NPR

🚚 Trial of Mexican cartel leader’s son offers cautionary tale for ‘narco juniors’ LAT

🚚 Sinaloa Cartel Clashes in Northern Mexico Leave at Least 30 Dead Newsweek

Crypto & Cyber

🔐 Europol takes down "Ghost" encrypted messaging platform used for crime Bleepingcomputer 

🔐 DeFi Lending Platform Rari Capital Settles SEC Charges CoinDesk

🔐 Fintech Giant Revolut Said to Be Planning Stablecoin CoinDesk

“There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full.”
 —Kissinger

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