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Kenya is intensifying reforms aimed at strengthening its systems for detecting and preventing illicit financial flows as it works toward being removed from the global financial crimes watchdog’s grey list by May 2026. The country was placed under increased monitoring by the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in February 2024 after shortcomings were identified in its efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. Being on the grey list signals strategi

French authorities have launched broad investigations into alleged human trafficking and financial crimes linked to contacts of the late convicted U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, following the publication of a substantial cache of documents detailing his activities. Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau announced on Wednesday in an interview with France Info radio that the new inquiries would draw on publicly available documents as well as complaints submitted by child protection

The first plenary session of the year held by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) concluded on 13 February 2026, after which the organisation announced major updates to the FATF Grey List. The revisions included the addition of Kuwait and Papua New Guinea to the list, formally known as “Jurisdictions Subject to Increased Monitoring”. Under its supervisory role, FATF regularly releases updates to the list of countries identified as having strategic shortcomings in their Ant

The February 2026 plenary meetings of the Financial Action Task Force marked a pivotal moment in the continued strengthening of international safeguards against illicit financial flows.   These high-level discussions produced important revisions to the lists identifying jurisdictions that threaten the integrity of the global financial system due to structural weaknesses or legal shortcomings. Regulators and compliance professionals across the financial sector are now expected

The United States Department of the Treasury has taken decisive action to freeze all property and financial interests connected to several Lebanese and international actors accused of participating in intricate financial operations. The move is designed to disrupt the use of informal economic channels and global shipping routes that have allegedly been used to generate revenue for banned organizations. By restricting access to these assets, the Office of Foreign Assets Contro

The European Union is considering a sweeping prohibition on all cryptocurrency transactions involving Russia as part of efforts to restrict Moscow’s ability to use digital assets to bypass existing sanctions, according to a document obtained by FT. The proposed measures would specifically target efforts to prevent sanctioned Russian crypto infrastructure from re-emerging under new guises. Officials are seeking to block "copycat Russian crypto entities spun out of already sanc

Authorities from France and Romania, working alongside Europol and Eurojust, have successfully taken down an extensive criminal organization responsible for laundering approximately 306 million euros derived from drug trafficking and tax evasion activities. The synchronized enforcement action carried out on February 3, 2026, led to thirteen arrests and the confiscation of large amounts of cash along with numerous high-value luxury goods. Investigators revealed an intricate fi

Canada’s Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre, known as FINTRAC, has levied administrative monetary penalties totaling close to $250,000 against two separate organizations for serious breaches of federal anti-money laundering rules. Regulators uncovered the compliance failures during independent examinations aimed at ensuring businesses actively prevent illicit funds from moving through Canada’s financial system. The enforcement measures underline the federal go

Financial institutions in Japan operate within a highly developed regulatory structure designed to prevent illicit funds from entering and destabilizing the national economy. A central component of this framework is the early identification of transactions that do not match a customer’s established financial behavior or legitimate commercial activity. By maintaining strict monitoring standards, these institutions serve as a primary safeguard against organized crime and cross-

Leonardo Ayala has admitted to participating in an extensive illicit financial operation in which he accepted more than $6,000 in bribes while helping launder approximately $5.5 million to Colombia during his employment at a major U.S. bank. Federal authorities disclosed that Ayala abused his internal access to open fraudulent accounts and issue hundreds of debit cards that bypassed standard security controls. Those accounts were subsequently used to carry out more than 12,00

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has launched an urgent, high-level monitoring initiative aimed at shielding Sri Lanka from the heavy financial sanctions and economic limitations that accompany international grey listing. Authorities are currently working to close serious gaps in both legislative structures and institutional staffing in order to satisfy the strict standards set by the Financial Action Task Force. By accelerating these reforms, the government hopes to safegu

The governor of the Philippines’ central bank has warned that the country faces a real possibility of being placed back on the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list as it approaches its next international evaluation. Speaking on Monday in comments reported by the Philippine News Agency, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Eli Remolona Jr. stressed the importance of sustained compliance, telling reporters, “we have to do what we need to do to show FATF that we’re doing ever

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Brussels has launched a major investigation into alleged customs fraud, corruption, and document forgery linked to operations at the Port of Antwerp, one of Europe’s largest maritime hubs.   The case, code-named “Steamboat,” centers on suspicions that a network operating within the port orchestrated a large-scale scheme that caused significant losses to the European Union’s financial interests.   On 20 January 2026, acting und

European Union foreign ministers reached a landmark agreement on January 29, 2026, to formally designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization, while simultaneously imposing immediate sanctions on 21 individuals and entities linked to Iran’s security apparatus. The decision includes the freezing of all assets held within the bloc’s 27 member states by Iran’s Minister of the Interior, the Prosecutor General and the Chief of Police. European official

The Luxembourg Registration Duties, Estates and VAT Authority has released a major regulatory clarification through Circular 792 quater, tightening the rules governing customer identification and identity verification for all professionals under its supervision. The circular reinforces compliance with the amended Law of 12 November 2004 on combating money laundering and terrorist financing, with a particular focus on the realities of digital finance and complex legal arrangem

The European Anti-Fraud Office has coordinated an extensive multinational investigation that has uncovered the unlawful export of 766 transport vehicles to Russia in direct breach of existing trade restrictions. The inquiry was launched after Polish authorities detected irregular patterns in the export of used vehicles, which prompted deeper scrutiny into the destinations declared by exporters. Investigators ultimately uncovered a highly organized logistics operation that rel

The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation has imposed a £160,000 monetary penalty on Bank of Scotland Plc after determining that serious shortcomings in the bank’s financial controls led to repeated breaches of UK sanctions rules. The enforcement action relates to the processing of 24 prohibited transactions connected to a customer designated under the Russia Sanctions (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. Between 8 February and 24 February 2023, the bank allowed £77,383.39 to p

The European Commission has formally classified Russia as a “high-risk third country,” pointing to long-standing and systemic weaknesses in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing framework. The decision follows an in-depth technical assessment that drew on publicly available information, findings from authorities in EU member states, and evaluations conducted by the European External Action Service (EEAS). The Commission concluded that Russia’s financial sy

Croatia has strengthened its framework for combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism, but further work is still required to fully address remaining weaknesses, according to a follow-up report adopted by MONEYVAL, the Council of Europe’s Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism. The assessment finds that Croatia has achieved significant progress in remedying technical compliance shortcomings that pr

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) carried out extensive supervisory work in 2025, resulting in administrative sanctions totaling €2.3 million, President George Theocharides said at a press conference on Wednesday, reviewing the Commission’s activities over the year. The regulatory authority conducted approximately 600 on-site and remote inspections of Cyprus Investment Firms (CIFs), alongside extensive reviews of Collective Investment Managers and Undertak