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Lithuania’s Gaming Control Authority has imposed a €468,350 fine on UAB Baltic Bet, the company behind the Optibet brand, citing significant shortcomings in its anti-money laundering (AML) controls—particularly in the areas of customer due diligence and source-of-funds verification.   According to the regulator, the operator failed to adequately gather and assess information about a customer and the origin of funds used for gambling activities before allowing that individual

The Financial Intelligence Unit–India (FIU-IND) remains a pivotal force in safeguarding the integrity of the country’s financial system, playing a central role in efforts to combat money laundering and related illicit activities. Established under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, FIU-IND serves as the national agency tasked with receiving, analysing, and disseminating financial intelligence linked to suspicious financial behaviour. Its core mandate is to detect a

Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) carried out coordinated enforcement action on Wednesday, targeting eight London addresses suspected of engaging in illegal peer-to-peer cryptocurrency trading in what it described as its first operation of this kind conducted jointly with other agencies. The financial regulator confirmed the action as part of a broader effort involving cooperation with tax authorities and police under money laundering and terrorist financing regulat

European Union envoys are on the verge of approving a 20th round of sanctions against Russia in response to its ongoing war in Ukraine, with Slovakia and Hungary expected to withdraw their opposition following repairs to the Druzhba oil pipeline, according to EU diplomats. The bloc had initially aimed to adopt the package in time to mark the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24, underscoring the symbolic and political significance of the measures.

Alain Bibliowicz Mitrani, the chief executive behind what authorities described as a fraudulent technology enterprise, has been sentenced to twelve years in federal prison and ordered to pay a staggering $330 million judgment after being convicted of orchestrating an extensive global financial crime operation. Prosecutors in Brooklyn detailed how the defendant engineered a sprawling money laundering network that handled more than $300 million on behalf of transnational crimin

A federal court in New York has instructed several major international banks to hand over records as part of a legal matter connected to alleged sanctions evasion involving Iran. The institutions named in the order—HSBC, Standard Chartered, JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, and Bank of New York Mellon—are not accused of any wrongdoing. Instead, they are being required to assist in the collection of evidence. The case forms part of a wider civil action that is expected to proceed befo

The Financial Action Task Force’s ministerial declaration issued in April 2026 delivers a clear and urgent message: the global community must significantly scale up efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing to ensure that crime does not remain profitable in any jurisdiction. This renewed commitment from finance ministers worldwide reflects a growing recognition that only a coordinated and unified international response can effectively dismantle the financial

Deutsche Bank has disclosed to financial regulators that it identified potential violations of European Union sanctions rules involving deposits exceeding 100,000 euros from Russian clients. The lender uncovered these issues through an internal review within its retail banking division, initiated shortly after Germany tightened its national enforcement framework. This voluntary disclosure comes at a time of heightened pressure on the bank, including recent law enforcement rai

Police in Daegu, South Korea have arrested 68 individuals following a large-scale raid on what authorities believe was an illegal dogfighting and gambling operation. According to South Korean broadcasters TV Chosun and TBC, investigators say many of those detained were caught actively placing bets on the outcomes of animal fights during the event. The suspected fights were reportedly organized at an empty lot located within an industrial complex on the outskirts of the city.

The Enforcement Directorate on Sunday carried out searches at properties linked to Kolkata Police Deputy Commissioner Shantanu Sinha Biswas and local businessman Joy Kamdar as part of an ongoing money laundering investigation involving an alleged criminal network operating in poll-bound West Bengal, according to officials. The action marks a significant development in the federal agency’s probe into the activities of an alleged organised syndicate accused of generating illici

On April 17th, Deutsche Bank has notified its supervisory authorities of a possible breach of sanctions rules restricting deposits held by Russian individuals to less than 100,000 euros ($117,940), according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The potential compliance issue was disclosed to supervisors after concerns emerged that some deposits may have exceeded the threshold established under sanctions measures targeting Russian individuals. The possible breach came to

On April 16, 2026, CBUAE, the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, introduced an updated regulatory package designed to reinforce the integrity of the national financial system against illicit activity. The comprehensive guidance supports the National Strategy for 2024 to 2027 and aligns the UAE more closely with international standards established by the Financial Action Task Force. Under the updated framework, licensed financial institutions and registered hawala provi

Regulators have uncovered a major compliance breakdown within Australia’s wealth management sector after finding that ninety-eight percent of businesses failed to submit any suspicious matter reports during the previous calendar year, a gap that authorities believe may be allowing serious financial crimes, including money laundering and tax evasion, to go undetected across the national financial system. The findings have raised alarm within the Australian Transaction Reports

The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested 25 individuals from Hong Kong and mainland China on Thursday in connection with alleged money laundering, fraud, and document forgery activities, PJ spokesman Leng Kam Lon confirmed during a special press briefing on Friday. The arrests form part of a broader cross-border investigation targeting an organised criminal group operating between Macau and mainland China, with parallel enforcement actions also carried out by mainland authorities.

The Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway has identified serious breaches in anti-money laundering controls at Svenska Handelsbanken AB NUF, operating as Handelsbanken Norway, following a comprehensive regulatory inspection that began with supervisory meetings in early 2024 and concluded with a final report outlining systemic weaknesses across multiple compliance areas. The findings indicate that the Norwegian branch failed to satisfy core legal obligations related to ris

A major judicial decision in France has brought to a close a historic case involving the multinational cement group Lafarge, culminating in a six-year prison sentence for former chief executive Bruno Lafont and a corporate fine of 1.125 million euros. The ruling centers on actions taken between 2013 and 2014, during which the company transferred millions of euros to armed factions in order to sustain its industrial operations amid the Syrian civil war. Judges determined that

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Venice, Italy, has obtained convictions against three individuals—two administrators and one employee of a consortium company—in connection with the misappropriation of European Union funds allocated for the development of Italy’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) network. The case centers on activities that took place between 2016 and 2021, during which the now-defunct consortium received €6,351,088.56 in EU funding. These funds we

The Netherlands has taken a decisive step in strengthening its fight against financial crime by formally expanding its legal framework to grant the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) the authority to temporarily suspend suspicious transactions. This development, set to take effect in July 2026, is designed to prevent the rapid movement and dissipation of illicit funds by obligating reporting entities to comply with postponement requests while detailed investigations are carrie

French financial watchdogs have issued a formal warning about the growing misuse of virtual international bank account numbers, highlighting their increasing role in enabling complex criminal operations. On April 13, 2026, the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR), together with Tracfin, published an in-depth report examining these digital payment mechanisms. While acknowledging that many of these tools are designed for legitimate accounting and treasury fun

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken into custody Amitabh Jhunjhunwala and Amit Bapna, both former senior officials of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG), in connection with an alleged money laundering investigation involving the diversion of funds from Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL) and Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd (RCFL), according to individuals familiar with the matter. The Reliance ADAG group clarified that Jhunjhunwala is no longer associated with