• Illicit Edge
  • Posts
  • Sanctions Shock, Cryptomus Hit, and Fentanyl Catch

Sanctions Shock, Cryptomus Hit, and Fentanyl Catch

Illicit Edge - Edition for October 23, 2025

Greetings! It’s October 23, and we’re tracking today’s top stories: U.S. sanctions Russia’s two largest oil companies, Canada Fines Cybercrime Friendly Cryptomus $176M, Cuba arrests Chinese fentanyl kingpin who escaped custody in Mexico, Rockefeller Brothers Fund Gave Millions to Terror-Tied Extremist Groups in 2025, and much more…

***

REGISTER TODAY — LIVE DIGITAL EVENT

Sanctions. Security. Compliance. Collision.
Where financial crime policy meets AML reality.

Oct 28 • 3 PM ET
Presented by Illicit Edge × Hummingbird
Join Us.

🎯 FEATURED STORY

U.S. sanctions Russia’s two largest oil companies and calls on Moscow to agree to immediate ceasefire. The sanctions hit Rosneft and Lukoil and almost three dozen of their subsidiaries. The UK targeted the two oil companies last week, and the EU agreed to another package of sanctions on Wednesday. CNN

🔥 TOP STORIES

Canada Fines Cybercrime Friendly Cryptomus $176M Krebs 

Cuba arrests alleged Chinese fentanyl kingpin who escaped custody in Mexico AFP

Rockefeller Brothers Fund Gave Millions to Terror-Tied Extremist Groups in 2025 Free Beacon

Experts urge Trump to ban terror-linked UN agency from his Gaza peace plan Fox 

Iran ratifies law joining UN anti-terror financing treaty in hope of easing sanctions AFP

The Murky Underworld Where the Louvre Thieves Hope to Hawk Their Stolen Jewels WSJ

Jaguar Land Rover cyberattack cost $2.5 billion Record

Thai Official Resigns Over Allegations of Links to Scam Network NYT

Lawyers and accountants push back against UK anti-money laundering reforms FT

The Real Target of Trump’s War on Drug Boats New Yorker 

‘A tool of the Camorra’: Serie B club put under judicial administration after mafia infiltration Bein Sports 

How a ‘dark fleet’ of tankers helped a Mexican cartel build a fuel-smuggling empire Reuters

IN THE NEWS

🚩 RUSSIA & CHINA

Nexperia crisis: how US-China tensions disrupt a global chip supply chain SCMP 

Hackers move $1.8B in bitcoin stolen from Chinese mining pool LuBian to four wallets Block

EU split over whether to let Ukraine use €140B loan to buy US weapons Politico

China eyes 3-way currency swap with Japan and South Korea amid Trump’s tariff war SCMP

💸 CORRUPTION & FINANCIAL CRIME

Renters Are Conning Their Way Into Luxury Apartments WSJ 

North Korea has stolen billions in cryptocurrency and tech firm salaries AP

83 arrests in landmark African operation against terrorism financing Interpol

Surrogacy Is a Multibillion-Dollar Business. Sometimes the Money Goes Missing. WSJ

🔐 CRYPTO & CYBER

Billions in Bitcoin Tied to Alleged Scammer Wanted by DOJ Are on the Move Decrypt 

SpaceX says it has cut Starlink services to Myanmar scam camps BBC

Quantum Threat to Bitcoin Grows as Google Reveals Latest Breakthrough Decrypt

Iran-Linked MuddyWater Targets 100+ Organisations in Global Espionage Campaign Hacker News

🚚 TRAFFICKING

US forces kill two in strike on alleged drug boat in the Pacific BBC 

Colombia Is Struggling to Keep Up With A Criminal Air Force WOTR

Drug kingpin Larry Hoover asks Gov. JB Pritzker for freedom CST

DIGITAL EVENT
Financial Crime Divide. Join Us — October 28!

Share Illicit Edge with friends!

They can subscribe here for free and never miss a story.