Hello Wednesday! It’s February 11, and we’re tracking today’s top stories: Rosneft oil refinery in Germany warns of risks from U.S. sanctions, Spanish police bust marble cocaine smuggling ring from Brazil, U.S. Treasury Department sanctions Hezbollah funding providers, HSBC and Barclays face $12B lawsuit over Epstein-linked trust, and much more…

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🎯 FEATURED STORY

Rosneft oil refinery in Germany warns of risks from U.S. sanctions. The letter outlines escalating problems at the refinery, which fuels nine out of 10 cars in Berlin, its airport, supplies petrol across the state of Brandenburg and eastern Germany and key ingredients to the chemicals industry. Reuters

🔥 TOP STORIES

Spanish police bust marble cocaine smuggling ring from Brazil Euronews

U.S. Treasury Department sanctions Hezbollah funding providers UPI

HSBC and Barclays face $12B lawsuit over Epstein-linked trust The Times

The US slips to its lowest-ever rank in a global corruption index CNN

Sanctions-busting shadow ships are increasing - the big question is what to do about them BBC

Eurojust-Backed Raids Uncover $364 Million Cross-Border Money Laundering Network OCCRP

New report on the use of virtual assets for money laundering and terrorist financing Council of Europe

Wall Street Firms Worked With Sanctioned Oligarch’s Family Trust Bloomberg

US seizes sanctioned oil tanker in Indian Ocean Semafor

DPRK Operatives Impersonate Professionals on LinkedIn to Infiltrate Companies The Hacker News

Fugitive behind $73M 'pig butchering' scheme gets 20 years in prison BleepingComputer

The mayor of Ecuador’s largest port arrested on money laundering and tax evasion charges AP News

Colombian national pleads guilty in $31M transnational money laundering scheme FOX

Former DOD logistics worker accused of acting as ‘money mule’ in giant Nigerian fraud scheme Stars and Stripes

Hamas Works To Replenish Military Arsenal as Trump Admin Demands It Disarm Free Beacon

Designations of Palau’s Senate President and Marshall Islands’ Former Mayor for Significant Corruption U.S. Department of State

🚩 RUSSIA & CHINA

Russia's oil revenues dwindle as sanctions bite, hitting economy Euronews

EU seeks to ban all Russian crypto transactions Financial Times

China enlists AI to sniff out corruption in public bidding Reuters

China’s ‘necessary’ asset-tokenization ban targets scams and capital flight SCMP

Justice Department Files Action to Protect National Security by Enforcing President’s Order of Chinese Company’s Divestment from U.S. Company DOJ

🚀 SANCTIONS

Treasury Allows U.S. Companies to Provide Supplies to Venezuela for Oil Production The Wall Street Journal

Iran ready to dilute its enriched uranium if 'all sanctions are lifted' AFP

EU's New Sanctions On Russia And Previewing The NATO Defense Ministers' Meeting RFE/RL

Russian oil tankers list Singapore as destination amid sanctions and shift to China SCMP

💸 CORRUPTION & FINANCIAL CRIME

Colony Ridge Agrees To Pay $68 Million In Penalties For ‘Illegal Immigrant Haven’ Texas Tribune

Epstein Made Efforts to Free the Son of Senegal’s Former President After Corruption Conviction OCCRP

Foreign billionaires funnel $2.6B to US advocacy groups to influence policy Fox News

Close Maduro ally pardoned by Biden once again a target of US criminal investigation AP News

"Fraud tourists" who traveled from Philadelphia to Minnesota plead guilty to siphoning federal funds CBS News

Prosecutors say Twin Cities man bought mansion thanks to $350M fraud scheme that netted $19M Star Tribune

🔐 CRYPTO & CYBER

Binance—Whose Founder Was Pardoned—Now Holds 87% Of Trump’s Stablecoin Forbes

A Bitcoin Blunder for the Ages: $40 Billion Accidentally Given Away The Wall Street Journal

Iran’s Digital Surveillance Machine Is Almost Complete Wired

Inside the Iranian Regime's Online 'Bot Army' Campaign Against Trump State Department Official Free Beacon

State-sponsored hackers targeting defense sector employees The Guardian

🚚 TRAFFICKING

Cartel’s Seized Ammunition Is Traced to U.S. Army Plant The New York Times

Epstein survivors, Democrats unveil bill to end federal statute of limitations for sex trafficking The Hill

Drug trafficking network supplying cocaine to Iceland dismantled Europol

Two Defendants Sentenced to Prison for Conspiring to Illegally Export Weapons to South Sudan DOJ

Fresh report warns fish fraud extends to one fifth of global catch UN News

“Man is a creature who lives not upon bread alone, but primarily by catchwords.” —Robert Louis Stevenson

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