Hello Wednesday! It’s February 18, and we’re tracking today’s top stories: Third suspect, known as 'Prophetess,' indicted in Kingdom of God Global Church forced labor case, Trump stalls vote on bipartisan Russia sanctions bill, Australians with ISIS ties are turned back after departing Syrian camp for repatriation, Economic Fighters’: the volunteers helping direct sanctions against Russia, and much more…

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🎯 FEATURED STORY

Third suspect, known as 'Prophetess,' indicted in Kingdom of God Global Church forced labor case. Kathleen Klein served as a leader and executive of the church — formerly known as Joshua Media Ministries International — and helped run a multi-state call center operation that prosecutors say exploited workers to solicit donations. Fox News

🔥 TOP STORIES

Trump stalls vote on bipartisan Russia sanctions bill Semafor

Australians with alleged ISIS ties are turned back after departing Syrian camp for repatriation AP News

‘Economic fighters’: the volunteers helping direct sanctions against Russia The Guardian

Euro uses Trump-shaped world order to encroach on U.S. financial power Axios

The record-breaking cocaine boom — and its deadly fallout NPR

France releases suspected Russian 'shadow fleet' tanker after fine paid BBC News

Ukraine’s former energy minister detained as suspect in money laundering probe France 24

How big is Ukraine’s corruption problem? The Independent

Vance Says Iran Is Ignoring Core U.S. Demands in Talks The Wall Street Journal

India seizes three Iran-linked US-sanctioned tankers Reuters

Worst of the worst: ICE sweeps up convicted pedophiles, traffickers in massive holiday weekend sting Fox News

What Is The ‘Fake Dubai Prince’ Scam? OCCRP

Bank Documents Expose Scale of Secret Investments in Adani Group by Adani Family Associates OCCRP

The Billionaire Brothers Betting on Syria’s Reconstruction Bloomberg

🚩 RUSSIA & CHINA

EU opens formal investigation into Shein over sale of child-like dolls and addictive app design Euronews

Russia Uses Ex-Wagner Operatives to Recruit 'Disposable' Saboteurs in Europe The Moscow Times

Beijing offers 53 African countries tariff-free trade access Semafor

Westwater Resources rises as US slaps duties on Chinese graphite anode materials Seeking Alpha

US citizen sentenced to four years in Russian jail after trying to smuggle Kalashnikov assault rifle stocks out of Moscow airport Reuters

💸 CORRUPTION & FINANCIAL CRIME

Ex-Executives of Private Equity-Backed Mobileum Charged With Inflating Revenue The Wall Street Journal

Collapsed law firm investigated on suspicion of stealing clients’ cash The Telegraph

Mexican president challenges UK asylum given to woman accused of corruption The Guardian

Peru ousts interim president over corruption probe DW

Massachusetts auditor takes transparency fight to high court after $12M fraud uncovered Fox News

🔐 CRYPTO & CYBER

📘 Featured Report: Stablecoins at Scale – Broad Adoption and Highly Concentrated Illicit Networks TRM Labs

As crypto industry expands, U.S. slashes office examining dirty money safeguards of cryptocurrency exchanges ICIJ

Surging prediction markets face legal backlash in US: ‘Lines have been blurred’ The Guardian

🚚 TRAFFICKING

US military says it killed 11 people in strikes on three drug boats CNN

The rise of the cocaine submarine The Guardian

How Ryan Wedding’s ‘right-hand man’ turned on him and helped take him down CBC News

Biden’s ‘quiet amnesty’ for nearly 1 million illegal immigrants New York Post

“I have always been afraid of banks.” —Andrew Jackson

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