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Tehran Tether, Hezbollah Heat, and Silk Road Stumble

Illicit Edge - Edition for May 26, 2026

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Hello! It’s May 26, and we’re tracking top stories after Memorial Day Weekend: Iran Moved Billions Through Binance to Fund Regime, U.S. sanctions Lebanese lawmakers/security officials over Hezbollah influence, Hengli - China's silk-to-petrochemicals empire - faces the chill of U.S. sanctions, JP Morgan and Bank of America Helped a Chinese Military Company Raise Billions of Dollars, and much more…

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🎯 FEATURED STORY

Iran Moved Billions Through Binance to Fund Regime — Continuing Into This Month. Transactions on world’s largest crypto exchange took place despite repeated red flags; Binance says it has ‘zero-tolerance for illicit activity’. WSJ

🔥 TOP STORIES

U.S. sanctions Lebanese lawmakers, security officials over Hezbollah influence Associated Press

Hengli, China's silk-to-petrochemicals empire, faces the chill of US sanctions Reuters

JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America Helped a Chinese Military Company Raise Billions of Dollars House Select Committee on the CCP

U.S. Clears Scrap Dealer to Buy Ships Sanctioned for Iran Activity WSJ

Swiss widen sanctions against Russia, Belarus in line with EU measures Reuters

Vietnam sells disgraced tycoon’s Hermes bags to recoup US$27 billion in damages Bloomberg

Hundreds of sickos arrested in sweeping SoCal child predator crackdown – 40 kids rescued New York Post

Treasury Department Designates Sinaloa-Connected Mexican National Indicted in Colorado U.S. Department of Justice

Deutsche Bank Raided Over Late Filing of AML Report Bloomberg

Vitol moves to open Mexico fuel terminal years after bribery scandal Reuters

‘Mastermind’ of $250M Minnesota theft scheme gets 500-month prison sentence as feds charge more people with fraud CNN

Regions Bank to Pay $4.9 Million to Resolve Civil Liability in Connection with Ineligible Paycheck Protection Program Loan Forgiveness U.S. Department of Justice

Members of Transnational Money Laundering Organization Charged with Laundering Cartel Funds U.S. Department of Justice

IN THE NEWS

🚩 RUSSIA & CHINA

Chinese national charged in alleged scheme to smuggle drug shipments to US South China Morning Post

Myanmar’s Wei family go on trial in latest phase of China’s scam farm crackdown South China Morning Post

China Restricts Chemical Exports to US in Fentanyl Crackdown Bloomberg

Cotton Pushes Sanctions on Any Nation Backing Iran's Hormuz Strait 'Toll Booth' Washington Free Beacon

China bans import of some Nvidia chips Semafor

European Commission proposes Russia sanctions reprieve for dealings with Chinese chips firm Reuters

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🚀 SANCTIONS

DOJ, Treasury investigate nonprofits and leaders allegedly coordinating with Cuba in influence campaign Fox News

Feds subpoena Hasan Piker, Medea Benjamin over Cuba trips Fox News

SCOTUS ruling allows lawsuits over property seized by Cuban government ABC News

NY lawmakers reintroduce Mamdani bill targeting nonprofits linked to settlements Times of Israel

US arrests sister of powerful Cuban official over alleged ties to communist regime Fox News

US sanctions Tanzanian police official for alleged human rights abuses AP

💥 TERROR

Military families want DOJ to distribute nearly $800M from French cement company found guilty of bribing ISIS Fox News

US lifts sanctions on UN expert Francesca Albanese Politico

UN Watch Welcomes U.S. Appeals Court Order Reinstating Sanctions on Francesca Albanese UN Watch

Ivanka Trump targeted for assassination by IRGC terrorist in twisted plot to avenge president taking out his mentor: sources New York Post

Italian teenager re-arrested in Florence for terrorism recruitment Jerusalem Post

💸 CORRUPTION & FINANCIAL CRIME

Former SVP of Atlanta Housing Authority Sentenced to Prison for Housing Assistance Fraud and Pandemic Relief Fraud U.S. Department of Justice

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Establish Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-Money Laundering Program Requirements FDIC

Georgian Citizen Sentenced to Over Three Years in Prison for International Money Laundering Conspiracy U.S. Department of Justice

Matt Mahan hit with $5M corruption complaint as billionaire backers bail New York Post

California Doctor Convicted in $45M Botox Fraud Scheme Targeting Medicare U.S. Department of Justice

Europol's Project A.S.S.E.T. identifies millions in criminal assets Europol

Mexico arrests municipal president, five others in corruption probe Reuters

🔐 CRYPTO & CYBER

Law firm Fenwick agrees to pay $54 million in settlement over FTX work Reuters

Canadian Man Arrested by International Authorities, Charged with Administrating Kim Wolf DDoS Botnet U.S. Department of Justice

The FCC Sends Billions to Alaska Companies Selling Slow Internet ProPublica

Two Men Federally Charged Over AI Deepfake Porn Under the Take It Down Act Decrypt

Police seize “First VPN” service used in ransomware, data theft attacks BleepingComputer

Lawmakers Demand Answers as CISA Tries to Contain Data Leak KrebsOnSecurity

🚚 TRAFFICKING

122 people arrested in Ohio human trafficking crackdown: "Operation Spring Cleaning" CBS News

Mexican Nationals Charged with Drug Trafficking and Illegal Firearms Possession U.S. Department of Justice

Philippines National Arrested on Federal Criminal Complaint Charging Him with Importing Quarter Ton of Cocaine from Ecuador U.S. Department of Justice

3 Mexican cartel members arrested in meth lab raid in Africa Border Report

Nigeria's anti-drug agency shut down large meth laboratory in a raid Associated Press

$14.7M in meth hidden in lettuce shipment seized at Texas border FOX

Cartels rely on trains to run multibillion-dollar human smuggling rings NewsNation

“You don't concentrate on risks. You concentrate on results. No risk is too great to prevent the necessary job from getting done.” —Chuck Yeager

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