Plus: Trojan Horse – Sanctioned Chinese Military Giant’s U.S. Business Keeps Booming in the Heartland…
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7/18/23

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Breaking News for Financial Crime Professionals

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Hello! It’s July 18, and we’re tracking today’s top stories: Kremlin looks for Yandex buyers in complex scheme, unethical AI platform sold on dark web, Texas vs Biden at the border, sanctioned Chinese military giant's U.S. subsidiary, and much more...

 

Plus: Check out a few new podcasts for the ride home!

Featured Story

 

🎯 Kremlin Looks for New Buyers to Facilitate Yandex Handover: The Kremlin seeks buyers for Russia’s internet giant Yandex who would subsequently sell the company to a Kremlin-associated oligarch sanctioned by the West. Moscow Times  

 

Top Stories

 

🌎 Unethical AI Rival to ChatGPT Sold on Dark Web: Unlike AI tools like ChatGPT and Google's Bard, WormGPT is designed to aid criminal activities. Independent

 

🌎 Texas vs. Biden: The Battle to Control the Border Amid Illegal Migration: Texas builds extensive barriers on its border as the White House continues to open the gates. NY Post

 

🌎 Sanctioned Chinese Military Giant's U.S. Business Continues to Expand: Cirrus, a subsidiary of China's Aviation Industry Corp., has been contributing to the People’s Liberation Army's weaponry for over a decade. Bloomberg

 

🌎 Email Typo Redirects Millions of U.S. Military Emails to Mali: A spelling mistake resulted in sensitive U.S. military information, including maps, financial records, and diplomatic messages, being sent to Mali. BBC News

 

🌎 Assistant Attorney General Highlights Growing Role of Data in Crime Fighting: As he prepares to leave his position, Kenneth Polite touts the Justice Department's use of emerging technologies to tackle corporate misconduct. WSJ

 

🌎 From Met Trustee to Holder of Looted Antiquities: Long-standing Met trustee Shelby White had many of her ancient artifacts, some of which were loaned to the museum, seized by investigators. NY Times

 

🌎 Treacherous Silicon Triangle: The United States aims to ensure both the security of the global semiconductor supply chain and the autonomy of Taiwan. Foreign Affairs

 

🌎 Binance Finalizes Bitcoin Lightning Network Integration: Binance customers can now withdraw and deposit funds via Bitcoin’s Layer-2 scaling solution, the Lightning Network. Decrypt

 

🌎 DHS Tracks Cryptocurrency to Battle Fentanyl: In its fight against the fentanyl crisis, the U.S. government is tracing cryptocurrency used by Mexican drug cartels to manufacture and sell the drug. NBC News

 

🌎 AI Keeps a Watchful Eye on Drivers, Alerting Police to Criminal Behavior: An AI system monitoring American drivers' patterns of movement is being challenged in a New York drug trafficking case, uncovering the technology's widespread use. Forbes

 

🌎 Major Payment Processor Works with Charity Linked to Terrorism: Fintech company Stripe is processing cards on behalf of the ‘Alliance for Global Justice’, raising concerns among legal experts and Congressmen. Washington Examiner

IN THE NEWS

Russia & China

 

💥 UK sanctions more Russians involved in relocating Ukrainian children Reuters

 

💥 Russia seizes control of Danone, Carlsberg assets CNN Business

 

💥 Chip companies, top US officials discuss China policy Reuters

 

💥 China’s Top Chipmaker Loses Chairman in Latest Executive Exit Bloomberg

 

💥 Canada Launches Investigations Into Allegations Of Uyghur Forced Labor Forbes

 

💥 Wagner troops arrive in Central African Republic ahead of referendum Reuters

 

💥 The underground Crimean Tatar group taking up arms against Russia Guardian

Corruption & Financial Crime

 

💰 Singapore Scandals Involving Ruling Party Politicians Bloomberg

 

💰 Two Men Plead Guilty to $67M Medicare Fraud Scheme U.S. Justice Department

 

💰 How whistleblower Andrew Left became the short-selling villain of the meme stock market craze NY Post

 

💰 Tesla directors pay $735M to settle lawsuit over excess compensation Reuters

 

💰 Teva must face trial over claims it paid kickbacks to promote Copaxone Reuters

Crypto & Cyber

 

🔐 Celsius Founder Alex Mashinsky’s Arrest Won’t Fix Crypto Wired

 

🔐 Crypto’s New Favorite Bank Is Reluctant to Accept the Title Bloomberg

 

🔐 Who are the ransomware gangs wreaking havoc on the world’s biggest companies? Guardian

 

🔐 Race towards 'autonomous' AI agents grips Silicon Valley Reuters

 

🔐 JumpCloud discloses breach by state-backed APT hacking group Bleepingcomputer

Podcasts & Videos

 

🎙️ New Order in SEC vs. Ripple Over XRP Is a Win for Crypto Unchained

 

🎙️ Public-Private Partnerships – Responding to Subpoenas AML Voices

 

🎙️ The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Heist Inside the FBI

 

🎙️ The Lottery Lawyer Swindled

 

🎙️ The North Korean Defector SpyCast

"To improve is to change, so to be perfect is to have changed often." — Winston Churchill

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