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🎯 Andrei Troshev: Who is Wagner mercenary Putin wants to replace Prigozhin? Vladimir Putin proposed to Wagner Group fighters that a senior mercenary known as "Sedoi", which means "grey hair" in Russian, command them instead of Yevgeny Prigozhin. Reuters
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🌎 Outlaw Alliance: How China and Chinese Mafias Overseas Protect Each Other’s Interests. Around the world, China’s shadow war of espionage, long-distance repression, political interference and predatory capitalism is drawing attention and alarm. ProPublica
🌎 UAE Suspends Gold Refiner on Owners’ Alleged Laundering Link. The London Bullion Market Association, which regulates the UK capital’s precious metals market, followed suit and suspended the refinery’s affiliate membership after a due diligence review. Bloomberg
🌎 Masked Gunmen and a Stolen Toilet: How Russia Seized a Ukrainian City’s Businesses. Not long after Russia’s military took control of the Ukrainian city of Melitopol, balaclava-clad men arrived at the head office of one of its largest companies, beat its security guards and announced that the business was under new ownership. WSJ
🌎 Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky arrested and charged with fraud. Both Mashinsky and Celsius's former chief revenue officer were charged with manipulating the price of Celsius's proprietary crypto token, while covertly selling their own tokens at artificially inflated prices. CBS News
🌎 California prosecutor Erin West on the massive wealth transfer to Southeast Asia from 'pig butchering’. The Santa Clara County deputy district attorney has made it her mission to fight back against these scams and the people executing them. Cyberscoop
🌎 Shein lawsuit accuses fast-fashion site of RICO violations. Three designers were "surprised" and "outraged" to see their products faithfully copied and sold by the Chinese fast-fashion retailer. CBS News
🌎 Huawei Books $560 Million From Patent Deals in 2022. Huawei has had to remake itself after Washington’s strict sanctions cut off its access to a wide spectrum of chips and software using American technology. Bloomberg
🌎 U.S. probing Exxon contractor in Guyana for smuggling drugs, gold. Nazar Mohamed and his son, Azruddin, are partners in a lucrative venture to build Exxon a shore base in Guyana for its massive offshore oil operation. Reuters
🌎 Ex-JPMorgan exec Jes Staley, pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s special friendship. Jeffrey Epstein had a “profound” friendship with Jes Staley, who said he missed Epstein after he was jailed for procuring underage girls. NY Post
🌎 Iranian president welcomed in Zimbabwe with anti-West songs on the last stop on his Africa trip. Both countries are under U.S. sanctions and Raisi’s trip to Africa, which has already included stops in Kenya and Uganda, highlights Iran’s efforts to counter them. AP
🌎 Biden suspends satellite monitoring of Colombian coca crops as cocaine surges. The State Department said the move was “temporary” but gave no timeframe for data collection to resume or explain why it was suspended in the first place. AP
🌎 U.S. Treasury Department Announces Andrea Gacki as the New Director of FinCEN. Gacki, who’s headed OFAC since 2019, "guided the office through major world events, including most recently, its role countering Russia’s illegal and unprovoked war against Ukraine." Reuters
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