Greetings! It’s December 2, and we’re tracking today’s top stories: Age of the Scam State; Coinbase C-Suite, Marc Andreessen Sued for Billions Over Insider Trading Scheme; Mexico’s Batman; 'Wild' Kremlin-Blessed Sanctions Evasion Scheme; and much more…

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🎯 FEATURED STORY

Age of the ‘scam state’: How an illicit, multibillion-dollar industry has taken root in south-east Asia.  Like the narco-state, a ‘scam state’ refers to countries where an illicit industry has dug its tentacles deep into institutions and transformed the economy. Guardian

🔥 TOP STORIES

Coinbase C-Suite, Marc Andreessen Sued for Billions Over Insider Trading Scheme Decrypt

Mexico’s ‘Batman’: The president’s favorite crime fighter, the cartels’ nemesis LAT

The Fugitive Oligarch, The Cryptocurrency, And A 'Wild' Kremlin-Blessed Sanctions Evasion Scheme RFE

European Authorities Seize $1.51B Bitcoin-Mixing Service Cryptomixer CoinDesk

Brazilian police crackdown on $4.8B tax evasion and money laundering scheme AP

Billionaire oligarch suing Britain over sanctions The Times

Are Palestinians Ready to Shed Hamas? Foreign Affairs

Suspected members of neo-Nazi terror group arrested in Spain Guardian

Swiss prosecutors file charges against Credit Suisse and UBS over ‘tuna bonds’ scandal Guardian 

How Venezuelan Gangs and African Jihadists Are Flooding Europe With Cocaine WSJ

Treasury investigating whether Minnesota welfare money went to Somali terror group al Shabaab CBS

Trump’s pardon promise offers yet another life to Honduras’ imprisoned ex-president Politico

Police consider corporate manslaughter charges in Post Office scandal BBC

🚩 RUSSIA & CHINA

Top Russian banker says the EU faces 50 years of litigation if it takes Russia's frozen assets Reuters

Chinese Rare-Earth Dealers Find Ways to Dodge Beijing’s Export Restrictions WSJ 

Russia’s arms-makers thrive despite sanctions Politico 

Putin’s Sanctions Demands Doomed to Disappointment CEPA 

South African radio presenter among five charged over Russia recruitment plot BBC

Rosneft’s Net Profit Plunges 70% in First 9 Months of 2025 as Falling Oil Prices and Sanctions Bite Moscow Times

💸 CORRUPTION & FINANCIAL CRIME

At trial of South Korea's Unification Church head, prosecutors allege luxury bribes AFP 

ICC president vows to resist US and Russian pressure despite sanctions and threats AP 

ICC judges reject request to release former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte AP

UK aircraft parts company director pleads guilty to fraudulent trading Reuters

Dozens arrested in early morning police raid of top crime families in Israel, West Bank TOI

Investors lost at least $40 million on a Miami business that never had a client Miami Herald 

Tunisian police arrest opposition figure Chaima Issa to enforce 20-year jail term Reuters

🔐 CRYPTO & CYBER

A stranger messaged him on Facebook. It was the start of a nightmare that cost him $280,000 CNN

Meet Rey, the Admin of ‘Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters’ Krebs

Retail giant Coupang data breach impacts 33.7 million customers Bleepingcomputer

Upbit suffers $37 million hack on Solana assets, halts withdrawals Block

🚚 TRAFFICKING

Son of "El Chapo" pleads guilty to U.S. drug trafficking charges in deal with prosecutors CBS 

Trump’s Venezuela push tackles the cocaine cartels — and Maduro’s illicit regime NYP 

Mexican authorities kill one of country’s top fentanyl traffickers Guardian 

UN Sounds Alarm on Haiti’s Growing Role in Global Drug Trade OCCRP

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