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Tehran Tether, Hezbollah Heat, and Silk Road Stumble
Illicit Edge - Edition for May 26, 2026
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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