- Illicit Edge
- Posts
- Hamas Links, Hezbollah Cash, and ISIS in New York
Hamas Links, Hezbollah Cash, and ISIS in New York
Illicit Edge - Edition for August 22, 2026
In partnership with
Hello Saturday! It’s August 22, and we’re tracking top stories for the weekend: Muslim Charity in Britain Faces Scrutiny for Possible Links to Hamas, U.S. places sanctions on 10 people over Hezbollah cash smuggling ring, ISIS-supporting woman charged with plotting to bomb New York state capitol, Fashion tech founder sentenced to prison for $300M fraud scheme, and much more…
***
Breaking News for FinCrime Professionals
Tell a friend to subscribe to Illicit Edge here!
🎯 FEATURED STORY
Muslim Charity in Britain Faces Scrutiny for Possible Links to Hamas. British regulators are investigating Al-Khair Foundation after U.S. prosecutors accused a man affiliated with the group of funding terrorism. NYT
🔥 TOP STORIES
U.S. places sanctions on 10 people over alleged Hezbollah cash-smuggling ring Guardian
ISIS-supporting woman charged with plotting to bomb New York state capitol Washington Times
Fashion tech founder sentenced to prison for $300M fraud scheme Guardian
Bumbling Penn State frat bros used not-so-secret system to plot cocaine deals New York Post
US ramps up Cuba sanctions in latest pressure tactic AP
Cambodia-US operation uncovers money laundering link to Sinaloa Cartel Washington Post
Two Binance Employees Detained in the U.A.E. Amid Police Inquiries NYT
Bessent to Detail US Plans to Isolate Iran’s Economy on Monday Bloomberg
Why Criminals Love the Chinese Economy: And Why Beijing Can’t—or Won’t—Crack Down Foreign Affairs
Mexican governor accused by US of cartel ties returns to office Reuters
More than 150 Polymarket wallets may have traded on military secrets Telegraph
Trafficked Texas fuel may now be bankrolling cartels more than drugs Houston Chronicle
Thousands of North Korean IT workers are infiltrating corporate America Fox News
Art market money laundering rules catch interior designers and toy-soldier sellers FT
Issuance of Venezuela-related General Licenses OFAC
IN THE NEWS
🚩 RUSSIA & CHINA
Myanmar military offensive targets land for Russia-backed port project Reuters
Chinese national Jianfei Lu sentenced to 15 years in $92M drug money scheme SCMP
T-Mobile 'chopped a cable' to expel Chinese hackers from its network TechCrunch
US government lab is probing Chinese lidar for security vulnerabilities TechCrunch
China’s ‘SilkParasite’ espionage operation targeting Central Asia with AI-assisted malware Record
Reply to everything. Edit nothing.
Your inbox is full. Slack is piling up. Client messages need a response yesterday. Typing thoughtful replies to all of it takes hours you don't have.
Wispr Flow turns your voice into clean, professional text you can send the moment you stop talking. Speak like you would to a colleague — tangents and all — and get polished output. Emails, Slack, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, whatever's open.
89% of messages sent with zero edits. Used by teams at OpenAI, Vercel, and Clay. Works on Mac, Windows, and iPhone.
🚀 SANCTIONS & TERROR
What to Know About Iran’s Economic Ties With Gulf Countries NYT
Trump announces 'economic warfare' on Iran, threatens ‘tremendous’ consequences for its backers CNBC
US presses China to join economic pressure campaign against Iran Semafor
Tankers stack up as Venezuela sells oil faster than its ports can handle Reuters
The Terrorist On Campus Daily Wire
Hezbollah’s Financing Networks: A Threat Far Beyond Lebanon GNET
Al-Qaida’s Renewed Confidence in Bangladesh Diplomat
💸 CORRUPTION & FINANCIAL CRIME
Zelenskyy Dismisses Senior Aide Suspected in $3.3 Million Money Laundering Case OCCRP
Criminal claims rock SoCal financier who ‘bilked $100M to fund private jets, supercars and mega-parties’ New York Post
SEC alleges executives fueled fraud at major subprime auto lender Tricolor CNN
Interrogation Tapes Reveal Journalist Murder Suspect Pointing to Highest Levels of Maltese Power OCCRP
Fed Acts on SouthPoint, Ends Deutsche Bank Enforcement Federal Reserve
🔐 CRYPTO & CYBER
U.S. Bank says breach claims related to fourth-party incident Record
Private equity firm Apollo confirms data breach amid hacking wave targeting financial giants TechCrunch
Mapping Iranian Cyberattacks on U.S. Water Systems CSIS
NSA, FBI warns of hackers using AI-generated tools in attacks on critical infrastructure technology Record
Grok exfiltrates user data when malicious instructions are encrypted Ars Technica
🚚 TRAFFICKING
Flying for El Chapo's sons: The rise and fall of a cartel pilot Los Angeles Times
How banned goods are smuggled across the border into Gaza AP
They escaped southeast Asia’s scam compounds. Then they realized they were still trapped. Guardian
Liberia's former Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor charged in drug-trafficking probe BBC
Indonesia Seizes Record 2.6 Tons of Meth in Major Bust, 10 Arrested OCCRP
Have a great weekend!
Share Illicit Edge with friends!
They can subscribe here for free and never miss a story.