Greetings! It’s January 29, and we’re tracking today’s top stories: Meta to pay $25M to settle 2021 Trump lawsuit, French probe Binance for money laundering, Senator Menendez sentenced to 11 years in prison on corruption charges, GenAI increasingly powering scams, and much more…

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🔥 Illicit Edge Podcast Drop! 

The Financial Intelligence Enforcer DESIGNATED

🎯 FEATURED STORY

Meta to Pay $25M to Settle 2021 Trump Lawsuit. President Trump signed a settlement agreement to end the lawsuit he brought against Meta after the company suspended his account after the January 6 attack on the Capitol. CNN

🔥 TOP STORIES

French Prosecutors Expand Money Laundering, Tax Fraud Probe Against Binance CoinDesk

Billionaire Binance founder ‘CZ’ jumps back into crypto with $16M investment Fortune

Former Sen. Bob Menendez sentenced to 11 years in prison on corruption charges ABC

GenAI Increasingly Powering Scams, Wall Street Watchdog Warns WSJ

📘 Featured Report: Spain’s Guardia Civil, in Coordination With T3, Disrupts Criminal Enterprise TRM Labs

Microsoft Probing If DeepSeek-Linked Group Improperly Obtained OpenAI Data Reuters 

Trump To Sign Executive Order To Deport Anti-Semitic Student Visa Holders Free Beacon

Trump says he will send migrants to Guantanamo Bay CNBC

Nine charged in counterfeit smuggling ring through L.A.-Long Beach ports LAT

ING to exit Russia after striking deal with Moscow investor Reuters

As a Rising Political Star, Gabbard Paid to Mask Her Sect’s Ties to Scheme WSJ

Billionaire Abramovich Set Up Fake Superyacht Chartering Scheme in Attempt to Evade Millions in Taxes OCCRP

Demand for sanctions compliance advice rises sharply FT

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💥 FINANCIAL WARFARE

Trump threatens country after country with U.S. economic weapons WaPo

Trump’s Nine-Hour Economic War on Colombia Rattles Markets Bloomberg

Belarus’s Integral Bypasses Sanctions, Fuels Russian War Effort OCCRP

Senate Democrats block ICC sanctions bill in response to Netanyahu warrant CNN

Can increased energy sector sanctions pressure Putin into peace talks? Atlantic Council

🇷🇺 RUSSIA

Russia Set to Test New Delhi’s Nerve by Sending Sanctioned Oil and Tankers to India Bloomberg 

Lawsuit says Russian officials stole millions meant to fortify border region attacked by Ukraine Reuters

IRGC commander says Iran purchased Russian-made Sukhoi 35 fighter jets Reuters

EU lets Russian LNG slip in new sanctions package Politico

Aluminum Climbs as Europe Prepares Ban on Russian Imports Bloomberg

🇨🇳 CHINA

Fake toll road texts sweep America as Chinese scammers target US drivers NYP 

Alibaba touts new AI model it says rivals DeepSeek, OpenAI, Meta's top offerings Fox

DeepSeek AI collects, stores US user data in China – like TikTok NYP

China's CXMT Memory Chip Breakthrough Beats US Export Controls Bloomberg

💸 CORRUPTION & FINANCIAL CRIME

Pelosi's Husband Sold a Boatload of Nvidia Stock Right Before It Was Eviscerated by Chinese Startup Futurism

Greek court orders extradition of Israeli billionaire on Romanian corruption charges Politico

DOJ Discusses Dropping New York Mayor Corruption Case Reuters 

Giorgia Meloni says she is under investigation for repatriation of Libyan warlord Guardian

Ukraine anti-graft agency investigates defense minister amid procurement dispute Reuters

🔐 CRYPTO & CYBER

Trump cabinet pick Lutnick defends Tether against money laundering claims DLN

Netflix Hit With Cease-and-Desist Demands Over Bitfinex Bitcoin Heist Documentary Decrypt 

Crypto Exchanges Bitstamp, Crypto.com Suspend Some Stablecoin Services to Meet MiCA CoinDesk

MGM agrees to pay $45M to victims of 2019 data breach and 2023 ransomware attack Record

“The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.” —Tacitus

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