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In September 2024, Wynn Las Vegas agreed to surrender $130 million to the US Department of Justice after admitting it had “conspired with unlicensed money transmitting businesses that moved millions of dollars in illicit funds through the casino.”   At the time, the public was given only a broad outline of the violations, with little detail about the mechanics of the underground transfers, the role of casino staff, or how drug cartel proceeds ultimately ended up funding high-

A newly unsealed federal indictment lays out an intricate money laundering conspiracy that used cryptocurrency ATMs, cash deposits, and fast digital-asset transfers to move illicit proceeds across borders under the guise of legitimate business operations. At the center of the case is Firas Isa and his Chicago-based company, Virtual Assets LLC—known commercially as Crypto Dispensers—presented by prosecutors as a clear example of how crypto-enabled laundering can be embedded in

A prolonged pattern of failures in anti-money-laundering controls has led the ACPR to impose a €250,000 penalty and issue a public reprimand against Banque Chaabi du Maroc, also operating under the name Banque Populaire du Maroc. Inspectors found entrenched deficiencies throughout the bank’s risk-management setup, customer oversight, alert treatment, and internal supervision. The case illustrates how long-standing AML shortcomings, left uncorrected despite warnings and multip

A disciplinary case stemming from the actions of illegal bookmaker Mathew Bowyer inside Caesars Palace has escalated into one of the Strip’s most consequential financial-crime matters in recent memory. A proposed settlement between Caesars Entertainment, Inc. and Nevada regulators details a mixture of penalties, operational restrictions, and corrective measures aimed squarely at the casino’s failures to detect and prevent money-laundering activity connected to high-risk betti

US prosecutors have opened an investigation into a cluster of telecom companies after BlackRock’s private credit unit, HPS Investment Partners, claimed it lent hundreds of millions of dollars against receivables that appear to be fabricated. The Department of Justice is examining entities connected to Bankim Brahmbhatt, a relatively low-profile executive behind a series of companies that borrowed substantial sums from one of the largest players in private credit, according to

A Detroit man has been sentenced for covertly channeling cryptocurrency to the ISIS terror organization, a scheme that laid bare how digital assets can serve as concealed pipelines for extremist financing. The case illustrates how a lone actor can sidestep conventional controls by blending encrypted technologies, anonymous communications, and privacy-driven transaction tools that hinder AML visibility across the digital financial landscape. Investigators uncovered a trail of

FATF’s most recent follow-up review of Vietnam portrays a system that is gradually reinforcing its defences but still grappling with structural shortcomings that shape how banks, intermediaries and designated non-financial professions manage the risks of money laundering and terrorism financing. The evaluation acknowledges visible progress, yet it also confirms that several technical weaknesses continue to prevent Vietnam from reaching full alignment with global AML standards

Across the FATF network, the evaluation machinery has shifted into a noticeably higher tempo, with the fifth round of assessments now running parallel to the final stretch of the fourth. Countries are navigating a denser landscape of expectations that spans technical compliance, effectiveness, follow up obligations and potential ICRG escalation. What were once background procedural documents have effectively become operational blueprints, guiding how supervisors structure ins

The South African Bookmakers’ Association (SABA) has issued a detailed clarification in response to the Supreme Court of Appeal’s recent ruling in the matter of Portapa (Pty) Limited, trading as Supabets, versus the Casino Association of South Africa.   The judgment, which also involved the Gauteng Gambling Board, was handed down on 21 October 2025 and has since generated extensive media coverage and public debate. SABA also noted its awareness of the National Gambling Board’

India’s financial crime enforcement authority announced on Thursday that it has taken into custody Manoj Gaur, the former chairman of Jaypee Infratech, over allegations that he diverted funds collected from thousands of home buyers. The company, once a prominent name in India’s real estate and infrastructure sectors, had been responsible for major housing developments in Noida as well as construction of the Yamuna Expressway, the 165-kilometre (100-mile) roadway that links No

Italy’s Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM) has revised its Multi-year Investment Plan for 2025–2027, allocating €28 million specifically toward the digital transformation and regulatory enhancement of the national gaming framework.   This funding forms a notable component of the broader €500 million modernisation initiative and highlights the strategic importance of gaming within Italy’s wider technological and organisational reform agenda. The investment focuses on reinforc

The sweeping international action that dismantled more than a thousand servers linked to the Rhadamanthys infostealer, the VenomRAT remote-access malware, and the Elysium botnet uncovered far more than a vast malware ecosystem. Beneath the surface of these interconnected tools lay an extensive financial crime infrastructure that quietly pushed illicit proceeds through anonymized transfers, shell entities, and digital asset mixers. The cross-border coordination behind the take

On November 13, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a formal finding and a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) declaring that transactions connected to ten specific gambling operations in Mexico constitute a class of activity posing a primary money laundering threat. The agency laid out a proposal to block these establishments from utilizing the U.S. financial system by instituting a special measure that would bar covere

In Southeast Asia, a sophisticated financial crime ecosystem has taken shape, where armed groups, organized criminal networks, and cyber-fraud operations intersect to exploit victims worldwide and launder illicit proceeds. A recent U.S. enforcement action highlights the scale and complexity of this threat, illustrating how money laundering can underpin both human trafficking and cyber-enabled fraud in conflict zones. The investigation focuses on the Democratic Karen Benevolen

Fraud networks have always depended on deception, but the surge in holiday-season scams is exposing a far more entrenched threat: the large-scale use of fabricated eCommerce stores and stolen identities to move illicit money through the financial system. What appears to be another spike in consumer fraud actually conceals a sophisticated laundering architecture fueled by synthetic identities, unvetted merchants, and rapid, opaque digital payments. During peak shopping periods

UK authorities have stepped up their campaign against criminal organizations using everyday retail businesses to launder illicit funds. A sweeping national operation has targeted thousands of high street premises suspected of concealing criminal revenue, exposing the scale at which cash-intensive shops serve as gateways for money laundering. The latest enforcement action revealed how small, seemingly ordinary stores can evolve into major laundering channels. Investigators unc

A 47-year-old woman in the United Kingdom has been sentenced to 11 years in prison after authorities uncovered her role in controlling a vast cryptocurrency laundering operation tied to an international investment fraud. Investigators found that she attempted to convert billions in digital assets into luxury properties, jewelry, and cash, using complex schemes to disguise the true source of the funds. According to law enforcement, the woman spent several years amassing large

The $456 million reserve shortfall that prompted Justin Sun to bail out holders of the TrueUSD stablecoin is now the subject of a global freezing order upheld by Dubai’s Digital Economy Court. The dispute revolves around whether funds from TrueUSD’s reserves were improperly directed to Aria Commodities DMCC, a Dubai-based trade-finance firm involved in financing commodity shipments, mining projects, and other illiquid ventures across emerging markets, according to counsel for

Beximco has emerged at the center of a sweeping money laundering investigation in Bangladesh after authorities uncovered what they believe to be a sophisticated system designed to channel export proceeds abroad without repatriating the funds. Investigators allege that once export documents—including invoices and shipping papers—were prepared, banks processed the transactions as standard trade operations. Letters of credit were issued, and the shipments were logged as complete

The Netherlands’ gambling regulation entered a new phase in July 2025 as the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) significantly expanded its enforcement scope, extending its oversight beyond licensed operators to include affiliates, media organisations, and marketing agencies. This development represents a decisive shift in the regulator’s strategy, designed to dismantle the broader ecosystem that sustains illegal and non-compliant gambling activity across the Dutch market. For the first