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Brazilian authorities are introducing new measures designed to identify and interrupt financial transactions connected to unlicensed gambling operators targeting the country’s online betting market. The Secretariat for Prizes and Betting (SPA) will implement the measures under Ordinance SPA/MF No. 2,750/2026, published on 14 September. The ordinance establishes procedures aimed at addressing the financial flows that sustain illegal gambling operations in Brazil. The new frame

Google is preparing to introduce revised requirements for its gambling advertising certification process, with the updated rules set to apply from October 2026 to advertisers operating in gambling-related markets. The changes were announced by Google on 14 September 2026 through an update to its Gambling and Games policy. Under the revised framework, advertisers will be expected to maintain what Google refers to as “good policy health” in order to remain eligible for gambling

Six Indian nationals have been charged in Fiji following the alleged non-declaration of foreign currency worth approximately FJ$183,000 and separate allegations that the funds were derived from unlawful activity. The six were intercepted by officers from the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS) on 12 July 2026 while preparing to leave Fiji. Authorities allege that they were carrying various foreign currencies with a combined value of approximately FJ$183,000 and had not de

The UK Government has launched a three-year Anti-Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Strategy covering the period from 2026 to 2029, setting out measures to strengthen the detection, disruption and prosecution of money laundering and increase the recovery of criminal assets. The strategy, published on 15 September 2026, is backed by more than £550 million of investment over three years and is expected to result in the recruitment of 500 additional law enforcement officers and

The United States Department of Justice has filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking approximately $61 million in cryptocurrency that prosecutors allege represents proceeds from the black-market sale of sanctioned Iranian crude oil and petroleum products. The complaint, filed in the Southern District of New York, targets cryptocurrency held across a network of addresses and alleges that the funds were ultimately intended to benefit the Government of Iran and Iranian militar

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has proposed new payment-integrity requirements covering merchant payment arrangements in the Philippines, including stricter controls on layered payment structures, greater identification of merchants and ultimate recipients, and the establishment of a centralized national QR-code merchant database. The proposed rules would amend the BSP’s Manual of Regulations for Payment Systems and apply to BSP-supervised institutions, payment system

Five individuals allegedly linked to Russian intelligence services have been charged in the United States with conspiring to finance terrorism and, in three cases, with conspiring to commit murder for hire, following an investigation into a network accused of arranging payments for attacks, surveillance and targeted killings. The charges were unsealed on 15 September 2026 in the Southern District of New York. According to the indictment, the network operated from at least 202

Europe’s illegal online gambling market has grown at an estimated compound annual rate of 18% since 2019 and could reach approximately €13 billion in value by the end of 2026, according to research commissioned by the European Gaming and Amusement Federation and produced by Regulus Partners and Helios. The study examined black-market online gambling activity across 28 European jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Spain, Portu

A Brooklyn social adult daycare owner has been sentenced to 76 months in federal prison for her role in a Medicaid fraud and illegal kickback scheme involving approximately $64 million in fraudulent claims. Zakia Khan, 55, was sentenced in federal court in Brooklyn after previously pleading guilty in August 2025 to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay health care kickbacks. She was also ordered to pay more than $56 million

South Africa’s Prudential Authority has imposed financial penalties totalling R35.6 million on Capitec Bank, Albaraka Bank and Ninety One Assurance for breaches of requirements under the Financial Intelligence Centre Act. The sanctions were announced on 11 September 2026 and followed supervisory inspections conducted between 2021 and 2023. Capitec received a total financial penalty of R28 million following an inspection conducted in 2023. Of this amount, R5.5 million was cond

The United States has imposed new sanctions on Russia’s VTB Bank over its alleged involvement in Iranian financial activities and efforts to circumvent US sanctions. The action was taken by the Office of Foreign Assets Control under Executive Order 13902, which authorises sanctions against persons operating in specified sectors of the Iranian economy, including the financial sector. The designation concerns VTB Bank Public Joint Stock Company, one of Russia’s largest financia

German authorities have conducted coordinated searches against a suspected illegal online gambling operation that allegedly processed more than €5.8 billion in wagers between mid-2021 and the end of 2023. The operation took place on 11 September 2026 in Frankfurt and the wider Rhine-Main region, with 11 properties searched by more than 100 officers. The investigation was conducted by the Frankfurt Public Prosecutor’s Office together with the Frankfurt tax investigation author

India’s Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) has issued non-compliance notices to 15 virtual digital asset service providers over alleged failures to comply with the country’s anti-money laundering requirements. The action was taken under Section 13 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), with separate notices issued seeking the removal of the platforms’ applications and URLs from public access in India. The platforms named by FIU-IND are Weex, operated

The US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has identified approximately $17.5 billion in suspicious financial activity potentially linked to health care fraud in a review of Bank Secrecy Act reports filed by financial institutions between March 1, 2025 and February 28, 2026. The findings were published in a Financial Trend Analysis examining patterns identified in 5,702 Bank Secrecy Act reports. The reports concerned suspected health care fraud and suspicious receip

Two industry-funded studies have reached strikingly different conclusions about the size of Europe’s illegal online gambling market, highlighting the challenges involved in assessing activity that takes place beyond regulated gambling systems. Research commissioned by Euromat estimates that Europe’s illegal gambling market generated €12bn (US$13.94bn) in net revenue in 2025. According to the study, the market has tripled in value since 2019 and accounted for roughly 25% of Eu

A Colombian national has been indicted in the United States over an alleged money-laundering conspiracy involving approximately $135 million in suspected narcotics proceeds, shell-company bank accounts, cryptocurrency exchanges, stablecoins and 207 Colombian bank accounts. William Andres Holguin Mendez, 40, was charged in a single-count federal indictment returned by a grand jury in Greenville, South Carolina. According to the indictment, the alleged scheme involved the movem

Singapore Police are investigating 254 people following a two-week islandwide enforcement operation targeting individuals suspected of involvement in scams either as scammers or money mules. The operation was conducted between 27 August and 9 September 2026 by officers from the Singapore Police Force's Cyber Command and all seven Police Land Divisions. The 254 people comprise 151 men and 103 women aged between 15 and 79. They are believed to be connected to more than 652 repo

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned Xinbi Guarantee, a Chinese-language online marketplace that US authorities say has been used extensively to support cyber scams, fraud, money laundering and other criminal activity targeting Americans. The designation was announced on September 9, 2026, as part of coordinated action involving the Treasury Department, the Department of Justice and the Scam Center Strike Force. OFAC also

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is expected to send a provisional measure (MP) to Congress this week aimed at tightening the country’s betting regulations, as concerns over household debt and gambling addiction increasingly put pressure on the sector. According to CNN Brazil, the government is considering broader restrictions on betting advertising as well as a possible ban on online casino games. Under the proposal being discussed, sports betting would remain p

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has identified a range of money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing risks affecting the global gaming and gambling sectors, including casinos, sports betting, online gambling, lotteries and online gaming. The findings were published on September 9, 2026, following an assessment of developments across the sector. The review covers both land-based and online activities and examines the increasing use of digital plat