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On October 23, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) released a Financial Trend Analysis (“FTA”) identifying approximately $9 billion of potential Iranian shadow banking activity in 2024, derived from reports submitted by U.S. financial institutions. FinCEN issues FTAs periodically to provide threat pattern and trend information based on Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) filings, pursuant to section 6206 of the Anti-Money Laundering

On the 4th of November, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has released new guidance and best practices designed to accelerate international efforts to trace, seize, and recover criminal assets. The initiative comes in response to concerning figures from Interpol and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which reveal that only a small fraction of illicit funds are ever confiscated. According to FATF assessments, over 80% of jurisdictions are currently perf

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has released its final draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) this week, introducing a detailed framework to define how financial institutions should assess the materiality of Credit Valuation Adjustment (CVA) risk exposures arising from fair-valued securities financing transactions (SFTs). The newly published draft RTS lay out the specific conditions and criteria that banks and other financial institutions must apply to determine whet

The global campaign against money laundering has entered a transformative phase with the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) 2025 revision of Recommendation 16, a sweeping update that marks the most significant overhaul of payment transparency rules in more than a decade. The restructured standard directly addresses the challenges brought by technological innovation across the financial system—ranging from instant payments and digital wallets to cross-border cash withdrawals

Across Europe, regulators now expect financial institutions to prove that their own analysis can reveal the true money laundering and terrorism financing risks across every business line, channel, customer group, product, and geography. What was once a box-ticking compliance exercise has evolved into the backbone of the risk-based approach—deeply embedded in supervisory reviews, governance discussions, and strategic investment decisions for data, systems, and personnel. A mat

The global campaign against money laundering has entered a transformative phase with the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) 2025 revision of Recommendation 16, a sweeping reform that marks the most consequential shift in payment transparency standards in more than a decade. This new framework responds directly to rapid technological advances across the financial ecosystem, acknowledging how instant payments, digital wallets, cross-border cash withdrawals, and virtual assets

A recent federal conviction in New York has exposed how seemingly modest cryptocurrency donations can evolve into a sophisticated terrorist-financing laundering operation. The case of Abdullah At Taqi and Mohamad David Hashimi demonstrates that even limited transfers disguised as charitable aid can sustain violent organisations when paired with modern digital tools and weak oversight. It also underscores how anti-money-laundering frameworks are adapting to trace cross-platfor

FinCEN’s 2024 financial trend analysis has revealed an intricate web of shadow banking transactions worth approximately $9 billion linked to Iran, which managed to infiltrate the U.S. financial system through correspondent accounts and a network of global front companies. The disclosure exposed one of the most complex and globally dispersed money laundering operations currently active, demonstrating how Iranian exchange houses, offshore entities, and front companies construct

Latvia’s security authorities have intensified one of the country’s most politically charged financial crime cases, moving closer to criminal prosecution against two former managers of the defunct “Moscow House.” The pair are accused of generating income from a sanctioned Russian-owned property, in defiance of European Union asset-freeze measures. This unfolding prosecution highlights both the intricacies of sanctions enforcement across Europe and the ease with which immobili

Canada and the United Kingdom are undertaking major transformations in how financial crime is detected, policed, and prevented — reshaping the regulatory landscape for compliance professionals across both nations. Canada has unveiled a new national strategy to combat fraud alongside the creation of a federal body devoted to complex financial crime, marking a decisive move toward stronger institutional capability. The United Kingdom, by contrast, is centralising anti–money lau

The latest sanctions imposed by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) against prominent figures linked to the Haitian gang coalition Viv Ansanm have illuminated the deep financial machinery sustaining organized violence in Haiti. The designations of Dimitri Herard and Kempes Sanon represent more than a counterterrorism measure—they expose the sophisticated ways in which gang coalitions in fragile states manipulate money laundering systems to maintain dominance, exp

The United Kingdom has unveiled a new round of sanctions targeting 90 entities in a move aimed at cutting off revenue streams that continue to fund Russia’s military operations in Ukraine. Announced on 15 October, the measures were introduced jointly by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the UK Treasury, with officials stating that the sanctions are intended to “strike at the heart of Putin’s war funding.” A key element of the new sanctions package is

A federal jury in New York has issued a verdict of nearly $21 million against France’s largest bank, BNP Paribas S.A., for providing the Sudanese government access to the U.S. financial system while it carried out atrocities two decades ago. The plaintiffs, a woman and two men who are U.S. citizens and were displaced from Sudan, losing their homes and property, were awarded amounts ranging between $6.7 million and $7.3 million each following about four hours of jury deliberat

U.K. fintech giant Revolut has hit a new obstacle in its long-running effort to secure a full banking license in its home market, with the Bank of England reportedly delaying approval due to ongoing concerns about the company’s risk management capabilities amid rapid international expansion. The central bank has expressed doubts about whether Revolut can maintain robust risk management controls as it continues its aggressive global growth. Regulators are now insisting that th

Abu Dhabi has marked a major advancement in its fight against financial crime by obtaining ISO 37001:2016 certification for its Anti-Bribery, Anti-Corruption, and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Management System. The certification, awarded to the Public Funds Prosecution under the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, represents more than a symbolic milestone—it formalizes a technical, auditable, and performance-based system that may redefine AML governance standards across the Middle

FinCEN’s June 25, 2025 orders against three Mexico-based financial institutions have set off a chain of events that few anticipated would reach this magnitude. What began as targeted restrictions on certain fund transmittals has now evolved into a test of how signal-based supervisory actions, new statutory powers, cross-border risk appetites, and market confidence interact when pressure mounts. The twice-delayed effective dates and the subsequent voluntary revocation of CIBan

Vietnam’s anti-money laundering (AML) efforts have entered a decisive and highly scrutinized stage as the government moves to close the deficiencies highlighted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Since the country’s inclusion on the FATF grey list in 2023, international attention has focused sharply on its financial institutions, digital asset exchanges, and regulators, all of which are under pressure to prove that their compliance reforms go beyond symbolic measures.

Released on October 8, 2025, the European Banking Authority’s (EBA) final implementation review serves as both a progress assessment and...

Kuwait has sent a senior delegation to Washington led by Dr. Hamad Al-Mukrad, head of the Kuwait Financial Intelligence Unit (KFIU) and...

Agent banking has become central to financial inclusion across emerging markets, yet it has simultaneously created avenues for money...