Hello! It’s April 18, and we’re tracking top stories to take you through the weekend: Daniel Kinahan arrested in Dubai, Treasury sanctions Iran-backed militias in Iraq as part of pressure campaign, Trump extends Russian oil sanctions waiver, U.S. sanctions cartel-linked Mexican casinos, and much more…

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🎯 FEATURED STORY

Daniel Kinahan arrested in Dubai over links to international organized crime. Police in Ireland confirm a man in his late 40s has been detained in the UAE in accordance with an extradition agreement. Sky News

🔥 TOP STORIES

Treasury sanctions Iran-backed militias in Iraq as part of pressure campaign Washington Times

Trump administration reverses course, extends Russian oil sanctions waiver Hill

U.S. sanctions cartel-linked Mexican casinos, alleged "gatekeeper" of human smuggling routes CBS News

U.S. sanctions 3 people, 2 firms over allegedly recruiting Colombian mercenaries in Sudan war Associated Press

Deutsche Bank notifies supervisors of possible Russia sanctions breach Reuters

UK Charges Financier With Money Laundering in $700M Russian Oil Fleet Scheme United 24

Norway Finds Handelsbanken Failures in Money-Laundering Controls Bloomberg

HalkBank-DOJ Deal to End Criminal Case Questioned by Lawmakers Bloomberg

North Korea Suspected of Being Behind April Fools' Day Crypto Heist The Wall Street Journal

Indonesia arrests chief ombudsman on bribery charges after only six days in office Reuters

National Fraud Enforcement Division Announces More Arrests, Convictions and Sentences Representing Over $340 Million In Taxpayer Fraud U.S. Department of Justice

US Government Moves Bitcoin Tied to $9 Billion Bitfinex Hack Decrypt

Scammers Are Stealing Recruiters' Identities to Target Job Seekers The Wall Street Journal

🚩 RUSSIA & CHINA

📘 Featured Report: Sanctioned Russia-Linked Exchange Grinex Suspends Operations Following Alleged Cyberattack Chainalysis

Issuance of Russia-related General License U.S. Department of the Treasury

France releases oil tanker linked to Russia after ship owner pays fine Reuters

Bessent Says Chinese Banks Warned About Secondary Sanctions Risk Bloomberg

Olympic deception: Russia's doping program is run by the same FSB team that poisoned Navalny The Insider

🚀 SANCTIONS & TERROR

Treasury Sanctions Government Officials, Nicaraguan Regime-Linked Gold Firms U.S. Department of the Treasury

Envoy expects U.S.-Turkey to 'soon' solve issue of sanctions over S-400 defences Reuters

ISIS-inspired suspects in bombing attempt on New York mayor's home plead not guilty to federal charges NBC News

Serbia's Russian-owned NIS oil company secures another US sanctions waiver Reuters

Sen. Blumenthal presses DOJ and Treasury on Binance monitor amid Iran sanctions concerns Fortune

Spain's Repsol wins back control of Venezuelan oil operations Reuters

Nigerian security forces on alert for attack on airport and prison Associated Press

Airstrike by Nigeria, U.S. ally against Islamist militants, kills scores WaPo

💸 CORRUPTION & FINANCIAL CRIME

Zaldy Co: Ex-MP arrested in Prague over Philippine flood corruption scandal BBC

Rapper Gims linked to international money laundering ring Le Monde

Federal Reserve Board issues enforcement action with Community Bankshares, Inc. Federal Reserve

MC Ryan SP among influencers arrested in suspected $300m money-laundering ring raids DL News

Star tenor named in corruption scandal at Naples opera house The Times

Tech CEO accused of running $420M AI business scam Hill

California was warned of shocking hospice fraud. Inaction allowed scams to continue Los Angeles Times

Eagles' Super Bowl standout Alshon Jeffery arrested for insurance fraud New York Post

Damon Jones to plead guilty to providing bettors with inside info ESPN

🔐 CRYPTO & CYBER

Cyberscammers are bypassing banks' security with illicit tools sold on Telegram MIT Technology Review

British man pleads guilty to conspiring to steal $8m in virtual currency BBC

Circle hit with class action lawsuit over alleged inaction in $280 million Drift exploit The Block

Polkadot-Ethereum Bridge Hack Losses Were 10x Worse Than Reported Decrypt

French Police Rescue Mother and Child After $400K Crypto Ransom Kidnapping Decrypt

France reports over 40 cryptocurrency kidnappings so far this year Le Monde

Data breach at edtech giant McGraw Hill affects 13.5 million accounts BleepingComputer

Man who hacked US Supreme Court filing system sentenced to probation TechCrunch

Fashion retailer Express left customers' personal data and order details exposed to the internet TechCrunch

🚚 TRAFFICKING

Influencer and Beauty Queen Arrested in Suspected Connection to Drug Trafficking and Money Laundering People

Scores of Chinese women smuggled into Germany for massive prostitution ring South China Morning Post

California prison guard charged with smuggling 20 kilos of cocaine Los Angeles Times

Four Charged with Trafficking Narcotics into Massachusetts from Puerto Rico and California through the Mail U.S. Department of Justice

Boat Captains Plead Guilty in Deadly Maritime Smuggling Events U.S. Department of Justice

Illegal alien sentenced 27 years in federal prison as part of Homeland Security Task Force for trafficking methamphetamine in the Eastern District of Texas U.S. Department of Justice

NYC officials refuse ICE hold for illegal immigrant accused in arson that killed 4 and injured 7 Fox News

"When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on." —Franklin D. Roosevelt

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