- Illicit Edge
- Posts
- Operation Box Cutter, War on Fraud, and Taiwan Underworld
Operation Box Cutter, War on Fraud, and Taiwan Underworld
Illicit Edge - Edition for March 25, 2026
Greetings! It’s March 25, and we’re tracking today’s top stories: FBI's 'Operation Box Cutter' indicts Chinese pharma firms, terror-linked cartel assets in fentanyl takedown; Senate confirms DOJ's new 'War on Fraud' prosecutor Colin McDonald; Billion-Dollar Casino Scheme and a Murder in Cambodia Expose Taiwan's Underworld; How an American tycoon deploys Mao's playbook against the West; and much more…
***
Share the knowledge!
Tell a friend to subscribe to Illicit Edge here.
🎯 FEATURED STORY
FBI's 'Operation Box Cutter' indicts Chinese pharma firms, terror-linked cartel assets in fentanyl takedown. A federal grand jury in Ohio charged Shandong Believe Chemical Company and Shandong Ranhang Biotechnology, with China's Ministry of Public Security aiding the FBI probe. Fox News
🔥 TOP STORIES
Senate confirms DOJ's new 'War on Fraud' prosecutor Colin McDonald New York Post
A Billion-Dollar Casino Scheme and a Murder in Cambodia Expose Taiwan's Underworld OCCRP
Red wealth, dark money: How an American tycoon deploys Mao's playbook against the West Fox News
SDNY Announces Recovery Of Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars For Victims of Iran-Sponsored Terrorism DOJ
Former Bank CEO Pleads Guilty to Multimillion-Dollar Wire Fraud Conspiracy and Venezuela Sanctions Evasion Scheme DOJ
Israel Hits Russian-Iranian Weapons Smuggling Route in the Caspian Sea Wall Street Journal
Federal Jury Convicts Dual Lebanese-Syrian National for His Role in Narco-Terrorism DOJ
Uruguayan Man Pleads Guilty to Agreeing to Move Money into the U.S. to Circumvent U.S. Sanctions DOJ
U.S. sanctions Vancouver company for ties to Hezbollah Global News
Edmond de Rothschild Offices Raided in Probe of Epstein Associate Wall Street Journal
Canada revokes dozens of crypto firms' registrations ICIJ
Supermicro—accused of smuggling $2.5 billion in Nvidia chips to China—has been here before, in Iran Fortune
Romanian Tycoon Linked to Sanctioned Belarusian Elites and Russian Drone Makers OCCRP
Man charged in $90M Medicare fraud scheme; DOJ says suspect may have entered US illegally Fox News
Will Iran Turn to Terrorism? Why a Desperate Regime Might Go After Soft Targets Foreign Affairs
IN THE NEWS
🚩 RUSSIA & CHINA
Moscow Court Bans Galitsky's Venture Capital Fund as 'Extremist' Moscow Times
Russia Faces Acute Yuan Shortage as Trade Lifeline Tightens Moscow Times
Russia-linked malware operation collapses after security failures, developer's arrest The Record
Chinese financial regulator and ex-corruption fighter Zhou Liang under probe South China Morning Post
Audit slams California school officials' ties to Chinese boarding school Politico
US regulator bans imports of new foreign-made routers, citing security concerns Reuters
🚀 SANCTIONS
Russian Oil Shipment Puts Focus on Kremlin Spy Outpost in Cuba New York Times
The EU's Plan To Defeat Russia In Armenia And Belarus After US Potash Sanctions Lifted RFE/RL
Cuba signals possible compensation for seized U.S. properties, but Cuban Americans remain skeptical CBS News
Issuance of Venezuela-related General License OFAC
💥 TERROR
A look at the fireworks company that sold products to two suspected terrorists this month CNN
Hybrid Threat Signals: Assessing Possible Iranian Involvement in Recent Attacks in Europe ICCT
'Moderate' Mikie Sherrill Attends Ramadan Services With Imam Who Faced Deportation Proceedings Over Ties to Hamas Free Beacon
Judge Orders Records Search After Trump Ties Cole Attack to Iran New York Times
Iranian spies are already in the US — and infiltrating Silicon Valley New York Post
Al-Qaeda's Cyber Jihad Movement: Plugging into Iran's Wartime Hacktivist Ecosystem GNET
Could Al-Qaeda Chief Be Part of an Iran War Deal? SpyTalk
💸 CORRUPTION & FINANCIAL CRIME
Congress launches investigation into California hospice fraud, citing millions in taxpayer losses CBS News
Insight Partners scrubs investment post about Delve amid 'fake compliance' allegations TechCrunch
Man to repay £60,000 after £12m money laundering scam BBC
Minnesota millionaire who qualified for food stamps warns of 'fraud by design' loophole ahead of hearing Fox News
Fed Enforces Actions on Ex-Ally, Regions Bank Staff Mirage News
Why is Brooklyn a hotspot for illegal election activity by nonprofits? Times Union
Polymarket is cracking down on insider trading with updated rules Engadget
🔐 CRYPTO & CYBER
Trader made nearly $1 million on Polymarket with remarkably accurate Iran bets CNN
FBI says Iranian hackers are using Telegram to steal data in malware attacks TechCrunch
The 'crypto kids' of Los Angeles: Easy money, risky lives and a violent fallout Los Angeles Times
Iran-linked hackers target second U.S. medical institution during war Axios
FBI warns of Russian, Iranian cyber activity involving messaging platforms The Record
Russian hacker who helped Yanluowang ransomware gang gets nearly 7-year prison sentence The Record
Hackers: We breached Crunchyroll, stole 7 million users' data Mashable
Someone has publicly leaked an exploit kit that can hack millions of iPhones TechCrunch
Attacker Exploits Crypto Stablecoin for a $25 Million Payday Gizmodo
Warren Requests Information From MrBeast About Crypto and Children New York Times
🚚 TRAFFICKING
How North Texas is fighting human trafficking ahead of the 2026 World Cup CBS News
Arizona's guns are feeding the bloodshed in Mexico's cartel war The Guardian
Puerto Rico Woman Who Flew to Philadelphia With Nearly 15 Pounds of Cocaine in Checked Bag Sentenced DOJ
Seven men jailed over conspiracy to import €42m worth of cocaine BBC
"Adults ask questions as a child does. When you stop wondering, you might as well put your rocker on the front porch and call it a day." —Johnny Carson
Share Illicit Edge with friends!
They can subscribe here for free and never miss a story.