Anti Money Laundering

American regulators collected 61% less in money laundering and sanctions breach fines in 2025 compared to 2024, marking a significant policy pivot under President Donald Trump’s second term. This drop, from $4.3 billion to approximately $1.7 billion, contrasts with surging global enforcement and prompts analysis of enforcement trends, political influences, and broader economic ramifications. Detailed […]

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced its intention to delay the effective date of the Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Program and Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) Filing Requirements for Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs) and Exempt Reporting Advisers (ERAs), known as the IA AML Rule, from January 1, […]

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC), through its Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU), imposed a 2.73 billion won ($1.9 million) fine on cryptocurrency exchange Korbit for multiple breaches of anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. The penalties, announced on December 31, 2025, followed an on-site inspection conducted from October 16 to 29, 2024, which uncovered systemic compliance […]

The Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance partnered with BENEFIT Company on 9 December 2025 to introduce a specialised e-learning programme targeting Anti-Money Laundering, Countering Financing of Terrorism, and Countering Proliferation Financing. The initiative is priced at BD 25 exclusive of VAT and provides three months of access from enrollment. Participants complete thirty multiple-choice questions […]

One of the largest intelligence releases so far on the Syrian state violence is the Damascus Dossier Leaks, released in December 2025. With the support of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and allies in Belgium in the forms of De Tijd, Le Soir and Knack, the investigation analyzed over 134,000 internal documents retrieved out […]

Canada’s FINTRAC Jeweler Crackdown intensified in 2025 as regulators escalated pressure on high-value goods retailers, issuing more than $363,000 in cumulative fines for violations under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act. The penalties targeted Griffin Jewellery Designs Inc., Victoria Jewellers Ltd., Diamond Exchange Toronto Inc., and Spence Diamonds Ltd., each found […]

The National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team implemented a revised branch-based AML levy in December 2025, shifting from a flat £125 fee to a tiered model calibrated to agency size. This framework now requires firms with 1–9 branches to pay £250 annually, rising to £500 for agencies with 10–49 branches, £750 for those […]

The establishment of the Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) was one of the most important structural reactions of the European Union towards illegal money transfer in decades. European policymakers had found themselves with a decentralized model, with years of historical problematic oversight, divergent national enforcement abilities and recurring scandals involving cross-border banking networks and decided that […]

Anti-money laundering enforcement intensified substantially across Ireland’s property sector in 2025, marking one of the most consequential shifts the industry has faced since the post-crisis regulatory reforms. The Property Services Regulatory Authority and the Central Bank have extended oversight mechanisms to address heightened risks associated with real estate transactions, which continue to feature prominently in […]

Malaysia will have to manoeuvre its way through more sophisticated financial crime risks that will test the regulatory ability as well as the economic resilience of the country. According to the data provided by Napier AI/AML Index 2025-2026, it is estimated that money laundering activities cost the nation 5.04 percent of GDP even though the […]

The world economies are moving into digital ecosystems completely, and the compliance requirements have been following suit. The market growth pattern of the AML software indicates that there has been a rise in the intensity of regulations, enforcement acts and the adoption of new technologies by the financial institutions and fintech platforms. As of 2023, […]

Official lifting of the South African Financial Action Taskforce (FATF) greylist in October 2025 was an achievement on an anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism-financing compliance compliance journey. Following close to three years of using an action plan with 22 points filled with better legislative practices, better investigative capabilities and better regulatory controls, Pretoria seems to be in […]

The campaign against Latin America to defend its financial systems against illegal activity has peaked with the changing world regulation and the risks of the digital era. These developments are still focused on cooperation between the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) and the Latin American Financial Action Task Force (GAFILAT). Their collaboration assists […]

In Kenya, many years of legal and institutional reforms and in 2025, the country is still placed on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) greylist in regards to money laundering and terrorism financing. The continued existence of such categorization makes Kenya one of the countries which are still considered to have strategic weaknesses in their […]

The 2025 outlook of anti-money laundering (AML) compliance is driven by an unprecedented evolution due to the technological disruption, the rise of more regulatory frameworks, and the sophistication of the emerging financial crime. The old reactive methods where compliance teams react once red flags have been raised in a given transaction are becoming ineffective in […]

Armenia is in 2025 at the very point of a long-term struggle to support the anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) mechanisms. This change is closely associated with its interaction with the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money laundering measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL) of the council of Europe. MONEYVAL […]

The move by HSBC in 2025 to reduce its private banking business in the Middle East is a watershed in the risk management in the financial sector in the world in its shifting attitude towards risk and more specifically anti-money laundering (AML) risk management. It involved more than 1,000 ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) clients, most located in […]

In 2025, the introduction of AMLTRIX was possibly a ground-breaking event in the global practice of anti-money laundering (AML). AMLTRIX, created by Lithuanian RegTech developer AMLYZE, is a pioneering open-source knowledge graph in the service of the global AML community. It tries to systematize and democratise the language and methodology of detecting financial crime by […]

Human trafficking is considered as one of the most widespread and lucrative illegal businesses on the planet. The trafficking of human beings to be sexually exploited, to labor, and to be subjected to other kinds of modern slavery generates about 150 billion annual gains, and cannot be practiced without the help of laundering schemes. When […]

Swiss financial regulation becomes a critical stage in 2025, when the lawmakers are considering new sources of funds to increase supervision. The core of this change is represented by a proposal to adopt a fee-based compliance model, which would directly fund the Money laundering reporting office Switzerland (MROS) enabling it to react better to the […]

A key innovation in the governance of the region is the Bay of Bengal Initiative of Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) being accepted as an observer at the Asia/Pacific Group on Money laundering (APG) in 2025. This action goes beyond symbolism, it brings BIMSTEC into the strongest anti-money laundering (AML) web in the region, […]

The regulatory changes in the United Kingdom in 2025 will be a landmark in its generations-long fight against financial crime. The UK government is implementing a series of specific amendments to the anti-money laundering (AML) regime to address weak points whilst also not imposing undue burdens on low-risk businesses. The new framework attacks the vulnerabilities […]

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) released its updated guidance in June 2025 to bring international Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorist Financing (CFT) efforts in line with the broadening agenda for financial inclusion. This policy shift reflects the growing world consensus that financial security and access to finance need not be adversaries. Conversely, the new […]

Ethiopia is now taking a leading role in combating illicit financial activity in Africa, taking a visible lead in regional and institutional reforms against money laundering (AML) in 2025. The hosting of the 50th Task Force of Senior Officials Meeting of the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) in Addis Ababa between August […]

The British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) was issued a Notice of Violation by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), with violation of the federal anti-money laundering regime cited. The report concerned the supposed inadequacies of BCLC in notifying the regulators about the suspicious transactions involving one of its casino clients who […]

The UK has been shifting towards integrating digital identity verification into the anti-money laundering (AML) system in 2025, which means a significant regulatory change. Related, subsequent rounds of revision to the Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs), led by HM Treasury and the Office for Digital Identity & Attributes (OfDIA) will make certified digital identities officially acceptable […]

The very recent development of China overhauling the anti-money laundering (AML) regulatory framework will bring a major change towards adoption of a more risk-based approach that is particularly evident in relation to reporting of cash transactions. A major weakening of the draft amendment published by central regulators in 2025 is the relief in the obligation […]

One substantial change in the United Kingdom supervisory framework on anti-money laundering (AML) by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) was the increase by 33 in annual premises fee of 300 to 400 in 2025. It is a fee paid by businesses that are regulated and companies like estate agents, accountants, and dealerships of high value […]

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) was enacted in 2021as a response to increased awareness of the use of anonymous shell companies in order to carry out unlawful financial transactions. With the CTA, limited liability companies (LLCs) and corporations needed to provide information about their beneficial owners by disclosing the beneficial owners as natural persons having […]

The dynasty is over soon as the first few months of 2025 can be described as a major loss against cryptocurrency fraud as Rowland Marcus Andrade, founder, and CEO of AML Bitcoin is sentenced to 84 months in federal prison after defrauding investors of the popular 10 million crypto scheme. This court case presents the […]

The release of the 2025 Opinion on the risks of money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF) by the European Banking Authority (EBA) is considered a critical point in the development of a new anti-money laundering system in the EU. Publication of the Opinion dated July 28, 2025, addresses vulnerabilities that arise when financial technology […]

On July 22, 2025, Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) imposed disciplinary sanctions on three financial institutions after conducting an investigation into significant breaches of their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) procedures. Indian Overseas Bank, Hong Kong Branch (IOBHK) was given a penalty of HK$8.5 million, which included a public reprimand, which was the highest […]

In 2025, Morgan Stanley, one of the most successful global financial institutions, with a significant operation in the wealth management and investment banking sector, faces a thorough regulatory inquiry over its ease of anti-money laundering (AML) compliance. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the self-regulatory organization of the US financial system, has launched an investigation into […]

The European Union is entering a fresh period of a fight against money laundering (AML) regulation reform catapulted by years of scandals and holes in enforcement. The EU hopes that with the introduction of the European Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) in 2025, a harmonized rulebook in operation now, sanctions in coordination and oversight in one […]

In July 2025 the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) fined one of the local banks AED 3 million (which is approximately 817,000 US dollars) because of numerous violations of the United Arab Emirates anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CFT) laws. This enforcement action is the latest in a string of high-profile […]

The government of New Zealand came out in a forceful crackdown on illegal money with a 5,000 NZD (roughly 3,000 USD) limit imposed on international money transfer in the middle of the year 2025. The limit is included in the overall review of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) system of the […]

In July, 2025 Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) levied a total of S27.45 million (US21.5 million) in fines against 9 financial institutions that categorically violated anti-money laundering (AML) regulatory laws. This was the second-largest regulatory fine in the history of the city-state that followed only those associated with the 1MDB scandal.It followed a far-reaching investigation […]

The Greek farmers bribery affair has driven the European Union to the point of discrediting its processes of allocating funds, as well as executing its political and agricultural subsidy systems and mechanisms. With revelations of a conspiracy of systematic fraud, top level political corruption and intricate money laundering, as well as systemic weaknesses in the […]

The European Union is highly affected by money laundering, which disputes the integrity of the economy as well as the confidence of the people. According to the European Commission estimate, illicit financial flows comprise approximately 1 percent of the EU GDP or approximately 140 billion Euros every year. These numbers testify to the bottoms of […]

The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) has recently taken a significant regulatory action by revoking the license of Sundus Exchange, a money exchange firm operating in the UAE, and imposing a financial penalty of AED 10 million (approximately USD 2.72 million). This enforcement follows investigations that revealed serious violations of anti-money laundering […]

The recent guilty plea of Charles Uchenna Nwadavid, a Nigerian national accused of laundering $2.5 million in cryptocurrency stolen from U.S. victims, has once again spotlighted the complex intersection of cryptocurrency, international crime, and online fraud. This case, unfolding in Boston federal court, reveals how digital currencies and peer-to-peer platforms have become tools for sophisticated […]

A recent money laundering probe in Spain has uncovered a chilling child trafficking racket that reportedly trafficked at least 30 babies over three years. This case highlights the complex and often hidden connections between financial crimes and human trafficking networks. The investigation not only exposed the trafficking of infants but also revealed the sophisticated financial […]

Republic of Moldova stands at a historic juncture toward combating money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF) in 2025. The latest Council of Europe MONEYVAL report also appreciated the major action Moldova has taken by improving the suggestions made in its Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in areas like customer due diligence, politically exposed persons, […]

The recent ruling by Malaysia High Court, acquitting the former Prime Minister Najib Razak of money laundering charges, which surrounds the scandal of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), revives the discussion concerning the degree to which the country is serious with combating corruption. Although it is not a proper acquittal as one should be found […]

Swiss bank Pictet, one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious private banks, has been fined $2.5 million for failing to adequately prevent money laundering activities. This penalty, imposed by Swiss financial regulators, underscores the growing scrutiny on global financial institutions to uphold stringent anti-money laundering (AML) standards. The case highlights persistent vulnerabilities in compliance […]

In recent years, Myanmar has witnessed a significant rise in online financial fraud, a phenomenon that poses serious risks not only to the country’s financial sector but also to its broader economic stability and security. Recognizing the growing threat, Myanmar has intensified its efforts to combat money laundering activities linked to these fraudulent schemes. This […]

The recent indictment of Iurii Gugnin, founder and CEO of the U.S.-based cryptocurrency payment firms Evita Pay and Evita Investments, marks a significant development in the ongoing global struggle against illicit finance, sanctions evasion, and the misuse of digital assets. Gugnin faces 22 criminal counts, including wire and bank fraud, money laundering, violating U.S. sanctions […]

The recent arrest of Sergio Velazquez, former police chief of Hialeah, Florida, on multiple charges including money laundering, organized fraud, and grand theft, has sent shockwaves through the community and law enforcement circles. This case highlights not only alleged criminal conduct by a high-ranking public official but also raises critical questions about oversight, accountability, and […]