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A former relationship manager at an international bank in Malaysia has been sentenced to seven years in prison and fined RM40 million after admitting to a scheme that defrauded eight elderly customers of more than RM1.58 million and involved the laundering of the proceeds through third-party accounts. Kho Yung Kang, 39, appeared before the Sessions Court in Kuching and pleaded guilty to 24 charges comprising 16 counts of cheating and eight offences under Malaysia's Anti-Money

Citibank's London branch has been fined £4.73 million by the UK's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) after a regulatory investigation identified widespread failures that allowed hundreds of transactions involving sanctioned Russian entities and individuals to pass through the bank. The penalty relates to 970 payments with a combined value of approximately £19.7 million. Most of the breaches occurred between February and November 2022, following the introducti

Newly examined financial records from Tether's early years have raised questions about the effectiveness of customer due diligence surrounding the issuance of USDT, after several entities and individuals that purchased the stablecoin directly from the company were later connected to sanctions evasion, money laundering, drug trafficking and other financial crimes. The records provide an unusual look at Tether's primary customer base during a period in which USDT was undergoing

US authorities have seized more than $560,000 in cryptocurrency allegedly intended to support Hamas, while simultaneously dismantling websites, servers and online communication infrastructure used to solicit digital-asset donations and recruit supporters. The operation represents another significant intervention against the use of cryptocurrency as a channel for terrorist financing and demonstrates the increasingly sophisticated methods being used by law enforcement to identi

NorthStar Gaming has been hit with a C$100,000 monetary penalty by Ontario's gaming regulator after failing to apply enhanced anti-money laundering controls to a high-risk customer whose deposits ultimately reached almost C$190,000. The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario found that NorthStar Gaming (Ontario) Inc. did not comply with provincial AML requirements in relation to a single player account that remained active from March 2024 until June 2025. The case has highl

Brazil's efforts to regulate online betting have significantly reshaped the country's gambling sector, but a substantial portion of betting activity continues to take place outside the licensed market. New research indicates that illegal platforms accounted for between 38% and 44% of online betting activity during the first half of 2026, highlighting the scale of the challenge facing Brazilian authorities. The latest estimate represents an improvement compared with the previo

US brokerage firm Moors & Cabot has been censured and fined $125,000 by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority after regulators identified significant weaknesses in the firm's anti-money laundering programme, including shortcomings in transaction monitoring and the handling of alerts involving customer money movements. The regulatory action concerns conduct that took place over several years and highlights the importance of ensuring that AML surveillance systems are capa

Finance ministers and central bank governors from the world's largest economies have gathered in Asheville, North Carolina, for discussions dominated by geopolitical tensions, trade disputes and efforts to address mounting global debt. The two-day meeting is taking place under the US presidency of the G20 finance track, with Washington seeking international backing for its campaign to increase economic pressure on Iran. At the same time, disagreements over US tariffs have com

The United Arab Emirates has launched a special and urgent examination of Banque Misr's branches operating in the country after US authorities raised concerns over transactions allegedly connected to Iranian shadow-banking networks. The UAE Central Bank announced that it would conduct a detailed forensic review of the bank's activities following a proposal by the US Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to restrict Banque Misr UAE's access to the US financial system

Five men have been charged in the United States over an alleged money-laundering operation that prosecutors say moved more than $7.4 million obtained from at least 77 fraud victims, many of them elderly. The federal case in Washington alleges that the defendants established an extensive network of companies, financial accounts and commercial mailboxes to receive and move funds generated through fraudulent schemes targeting people across the United States. The defendants named

The US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has proposed cutting Banque Misr's UAE operations off from the US correspondent banking system after identifying approximately $1.8 billion in transactions involving 103 companies that US authorities believe may form part of Iranian shadow-banking networks. The proposed action, announced on 28 August 2026, represents a major escalation in US efforts to restrict Iran's access to the international financial system. It targets the UAE

More than $5.2 million has been forfeited by ENEX Premium Trading Limited following a UK investigation into suspected money laundering and sanctions evasion, highlighting the growing use of civil recovery powers to target potentially illicit funds without requiring a criminal conviction. The agricultural trading company, which is registered in St Kitts and Nevis and owned by Azerbaijani national Nadir Valiyev, agreed to surrender approximately £3.84 million after investigator

European investment firms with assets exceeding €30 billion could face a significantly different regulatory regime under new proposals being developed by the European Banking Authority, as regulators seek to clarify when large investment firms must transition into the banking framework. The EBA has launched a consultation covering three draft regulatory technical standards that would establish clearer rules for calculating an investment firm's total assets, reporting those fi

Singapore is preparing to auction hundreds of pieces of luxury jewellery and other high-value goods forfeited in one of the country's largest money-laundering investigations, turning assets linked to the case into proceeds for the state through a carefully controlled disposal process. The first auctions are scheduled to begin on 7 September 2026 and will include 286 pieces of fine jewellery alongside hundreds of handbags and other luxury accessories. Together, the first two a

The European Central Bank is advancing its plans to create an integrated European market for tokenised assets, with Executive Board member Piero Cipollone warning that the emergence of fragmented digital platforms could worsen existing divisions across Europe’s capital markets. Speaking on Wednesday at the Deutsche Bundesbank’s Symposium on “Future of payments: trends and innovations in Germany and Europe” in Frankfurt, Cipollone said the ECB was now translating into action a

Belarus could introduce sweeping new restrictions on gambling advertising as the government considers a package of reforms aimed at reducing the visibility and appeal of betting and gaming activities. The Telegraph Agency of Belarus has reported that discussions are underway over proposed changes to the country’s gambling advertising rules. While Belarus is far from one of Europe’s largest gambling markets and has attracted limited attention from major regulated operators, ga

Brazilian Senator Camilo Santana has introduced legislation that would establish a default monthly deposit limit of R$80 (approximately US$15) for customers participating in the country’s regulated fixed-odds betting market. Under Bill 3765/2026, the proposed cap would apply to a customer’s total deposits across all betting operators authorised by Brazil’s Ministry of Finance. This means bettors would not be permitted to deposit R$80 separately with each licensed operator, wi

Massachusetts State Representative Francisco Paulino has been arrested and charged with allegedly fraudulently obtaining more than $700,000 in pandemic-related government assistance and subsequently using part of the money in transactions involving real estate, loans and his own businesses. Paulino, 46, who represents the 16th Essex District covering parts of Lawrence and Methuen, was arrested on 26 August 2026 following a federal grand jury indictment containing 11 charges.

Meta has agreed to pay up to $18 billion to resolve a major legal challenge brought by US states over the treatment of children and teenagers on Facebook and Instagram, in a settlement that could have consequences far beyond the company itself. The agreement brings an abrupt end to a closely watched federal trial in California in which Meta faced allegations that its platforms were deliberately designed to encourage prolonged use among young people, while the company failed t

Qatar is placing greater emphasis on risk-based anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing controls within the country's non-profit sector, as authorities seek to strengthen the protection of charitable organisations from financial crime while ensuring that legitimate humanitarian activities can continue without unnecessary disruption. The Regulatory Authority for Charitable Activities organised a dedicated forum to examine the implications of the latest update to