Happy Monday! It’s March 2, and we’re tracking top stories to start the new week: Polymarket attracts record trading 'world' volumes as U.S.-Iran bets top $529 million, Tether says it has frozen $4.2 billion of its stablecoin over crime links, Minnesota Weighs Total Ban on Bitcoin and Crypto ATMs, California-Born Kingpin “Tricky Tres” Eyes CJNG Throne After El Mencho’s Bloody End, and much more…

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🎯 FEATURED STORY

Polymarket attracts record trading 'world' volumes as U.S.-Iran bets top $529 million. A prediction market about military strikes on a sovereign nation now sits alongside presidential election bets as one of the most-traded contracts the platform has ever hosted. CoinDesk

🔥 TOP STORIES

Tether says it has frozen $4.2 billion of its stablecoin over crime links Reuters

Minnesota Weighs Total Ban on Bitcoin and Crypto ATMs Decrypt

After El Mencho killing, who will run Mexico’s biggest cartel? It could be a man born in California Los Angeles Times

The Bloody Rise and Fall of Mexico’s Top Crime Boss New York Times

Fake CEO and cat photos help uncover billion-dollar IRGC crypto network Iran International

Iran crisis puts the regime's $7.8 billion crypto shadow economy in spotlight CoinDesk

U.S. Treasury official to meet with Swiss regulators, bankers on illicit finance next week Reuters

Authorities search Swiss bank’s Luxembourg offices Luxembourg Times

Data Broker Breaches Fueled Nearly $21 Billion in Identity-Theft Losses Wired

Trafigura award climbs to $700mn after court victory against Prateek Gupta Financial Times

OpenAI Fires an Employee for Prediction Market Insider Trading Wired

Trump designates Iran as a state sponsor of wrongful detention CNN

Destitute survivors of south-east Asia’s cyberscam farms an ‘international crisis’ The Guardian

Senator opens inquiry into Binance over allegations it fired investigators who flagged that more than $1 billion flowed to Iranian entities Fortune

Creator Of “OnlyFake” Charged And Pleads Guilty To Selling More Than 10,000 Digital Fake Identification Documents DOJ

United States Seeks Forfeiture of Oil Tanker and 1.8M Barrels of Crude Oil That Supported Iran and Venezuela DOJ

Venezuelan oil sale proceeds no longer routed through Qatar, US energy secretary says Reuters

D.C. Scam Center Strike Force Seizures of Cryptocurrency from Chinese Transnational Criminals Tops $580 Million DOJ

🚩 RUSSIA & CHINA

China's digital yuan progress heats up competition for future of money Nikkei Asia

The Russian honeytrap: alleged spy for Moscow faces five years in US prison The Guardian

Gazprom Neft Senior Manager Arrested in St. Petersburg for Bribery The Moscow Times

Sherry Xue jailed for funnelling Chinese investor funds to Trump campaign AP

We looked at the 400 western firms still in Russia. Their paltry size strips Putin’s bluff bare naked Fortune

AI chip made for Chinese company draws scrutiny over potential U.S. export violations NBC News

🚀 SANCTIONS

Cartel hotel: Feds say resort tied to kingpin El Mencho faces US sanctions USA Today

As Trump’s African Peace Deal Teetered, a Call From Rwanda Halted U.S. Sanctions WSJ

Treasury Sanctions Nicaraguan Officials Enabling the Murillo-Ortega Dictatorship’s Repression US Treasury

Georgia is becoming Iran’s sanctions evasion hub The Hill

💸 CORRUPTION & FINANCIAL CRIME

Convicted Felon Sentenced to 10 Years for the Interstate Transportation of Stolen Avionics Equipment DOJ

ICC judges hear charges against ex-Philippine president Duterte BBC

Chilean National Extradited to U.S. to Face Financial Fraud Crimes in the District of Utah DOJ

Indian tycoon Anil Ambani’s US$410 million building seized in billion-dollar fraud probe Bloomberg

Nigerian national sentenced to 19 years for $4M scam involving fraudulent marriage attempts Fox

India's federal agency opens second criminal case against Anil Ambani, Reliance Communications Reuters

Georgia Securities Commissioner issues emergency order against Cobb County adviser, alleging a $6.6 million Ponzi scheme CBS News

Wall Street’s top cop wants companies to name names Semafor

Panamanian investigators remove documents from offices of company that ran canal ports AP

Ex-Moelis Banker to Plead Guilty in Global Insider Trading Case Bloomberg

🔐 CRYPTO & CYBER

Former Mt. Gox CEO proposes hard fork to recover $5.2 billion in bitcoin from 2011 theft The Block

Crypto’s Richest Man Details His Secret Talks, Prison Time and Humbling Comedown New York Times

Trump orders government to stop using Anthropic in battle over AI use BBC

New AirSnitch attack bypasses Wi-Fi encryption in homes, offices, and enterprises Ars Technica

Fake CAPTCHA attacks exploded by 563% last year: How to spot them and stay safe online ZDNET

🚚 TRAFFICKING

After El Mencho's killing, his cartel's power endures deep inside the US Reuters

Gulf Cartel member captured along U.S. border in Mexico UPI

The disputed business interests of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel El País

Tren de Aragua Gang Members Charged in Connection with ATM "Jackpotting Scheme" DOJ

3 dozen swords, 50 arrowheads dating back 4,000 years seized in Philadelphia CBS News

Narco-terrorism charges filed against cartel leaders who allegedly control Tijuana corridor Los Angeles Times

“If the leader is filled with high ambition and if he pursues his aims with audacity and strength of will, he will reach them in spite of all obstacles.” —Carl von Clausewitz

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