As Iran’s Crypto Outflows Spike, Its Hacking Groups Go Dark
As the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran continues, there’s a bit of split-screen in Iranian online activity at the moment. On the one screen, crypto usage has spiked sharply since the launch of the attacks. On the other, most of Iran’s state-sponsored cyber groups are nowhere to be found.
Money Launderers Have Made ‘Dramatic’ Turn to Crypto in Recent Years
Western governments are being urged to tighten controls on cryptocurrency after new research warned that criminals and hostile states have laundered an estimated $350 billion using crypto over the past two decades.
In Finland, Rising Concerns Over the Risks of Russian Real-Estate Buys
Finnish authorities are tightening scrutiny of real-estate purchases after a series of Russian-linked property deals raised fears that land and buildings near military facilities and critical infrastructure could be used for espionage or sabotage.
Epstein Files Shine a Rare Light on ‘Family Office’ Investments
A U.S. Justice Department release tied to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation has unexpectedly pulled back the curtain on “family offices”—the private, often home-office-style investment operations used by many of the world’s wealthiest families.
Tariff Evasion and Fraud Seen Behind Record Gap in U.S.-China Trade Data
A record mismatch in official trade statistics is complicating efforts to measure how far the U.S. and China have “decoupled,” according to Bloomberg, which cited an $112-billion gap between what Beijing said it exported to the United States and what U.S. Customs and Border Protection recorded as arriving.
Waste Crime Is Rising as Management Market Reaches $1.2tn in Value
Waste crime and trafficking is expanding globally, fueled by profit incentives in a fast-growing waste-management industry and compounded by major blind spots in official data, according to a newly released report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
How Australia’s Diamond Sector Could Be Funding Russia’s War on Ukraine
Russian diamonds may be entering Australia through intermediaries and processing hubs despite sanctions on Moscow’s state-owned diamond giant Alrosa.
Fed Plan Would Codify Removal of ‘Reputation Risk’ from Exams
The Federal Reserve on Monday proposed a new rule that would prohibit its examiners penalizing institutions over the “reputation risk” they face from customers—a policy shift that aligns with ongoing litigation brought by President Donald Trump against JPMorgan Chase.
Binance Fired Staff Who Uncovered Banned Iranian Transactions, NYT Confirms
Binance internal investigators found last year that about $1.7 billion in cryptocurrency flowed from two accounts on the exchange to Iranian entities with links to terrorist groups, raising potential violations of global sanctions.
Trump Looks to Add Tariffs Beyond the Global 15-Percent Hike
The White House is weighing a new round of national-security tariffs on several industries after a Supreme Court ruling last week struck down many of President Trump’s second-term levies, The Wall Street Journal reported.