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Vietnamese authorities are investigating an alleged online gambling and money-laundering network linked to approximately VND 30 trillion (around US$1.2 billion) in transactions through a reward-based gaming operation known as PinJoy. The investigation has exposed an extensive network of bank accounts, cryptocurrency intermediaries and digital wallets allegedly used to move funds through Vietnam and transfer value to individuals operating overseas. The investigation was led by

Two prediction market operators are seeking to prevent Missouri from applying its gambling laws to sports event contracts, arguing that federal commodities law gives the Commodity Futures Trading Commission exclusive regulatory authority. Crypto.com’s prediction market exchange and Novig have filed separate federal lawsuits against Missouri officials, escalating a nationwide legal dispute over whether sports-related event contracts should be regulated as financial derivativ

French financial authorities have proposed changes to the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), seeking clearer rules for stablecoins, stronger supervision of major crypto-asset service providers and additional safeguards for decentralised finance (DeFi). The joint proposals were published in October 2026 by the French Treasury, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), Banque de France and the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR). T

Mastercard has introduced a new risk intelligence solution designed to help financial institutions identify fraud, scams, sanctions exposure and other financial crime risks associated with stablecoin payments. The product, called Stablecoin Security, combines conventional payment information with blockchain analytics to assess transactions before funds are transferred on-chain and throughout the payment process. Announced on 19 October 2026 at the Money20/20 USA conference in

The Council of Europe and the European Union have taken a further step towards strengthening international cooperation on money laundering and criminal asset recovery, with the signing of a new protocol designed to help authorities trace, freeze and confiscate proceeds of crime, including crypto-assets. The Additional Protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism, commo

A report released by Democratic members of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has raised concerns over the use of Tether’s USDT stablecoin in financial networks linked to Iran and its regional proxies. The report analysed blockchain transaction data from 846 cryptocurrency wallets that had been sanctioned or targeted for seizure because of alleged links to Iran and associated groups. It found that 84% of the wallets had transacted exclusively or almost e

Binance withdrew its application for authorisation as a crypto-asset service provider in Greece in June 2026 after the licensing process stalled before the end of the transitional period under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). Subsequent reporting has alleged that European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde intervened with Greek authorities to prevent the application from being approved. The application was submitted to the Hellenic Capita

US federal prosecutors are investigating whether Binance knowingly allowed trading activity that violated US sanctions relating to Iran, adding a new layer of regulatory scrutiny to the cryptocurrency exchange. The reported investigation is being led by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, with the Justice Department’s Criminal Division in Washington also involved. The inquiry concerns whether transactions involving Iran or Iranian-linked parties we

The United States has imposed sanctions on Iranian cryptocurrency exchange BitBank, its software developer and three individuals linked to Iranian financier Babak Zanjani, alleging that the network facilitated the movement of hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The designations were announced by the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on 17 September 2026 under Executive Order 13902, w

A Singaporean man has pleaded guilty in the United States to his role in one of the largest single-victim cryptocurrency thefts in the country, admitting to participating in a scheme that resulted in the theft of more than $245 million worth of Bitcoin. Malone Lam, 22, pleaded guilty to a federal racketeering conspiracy charge in Washington, D.C., after prosecutors accused him of helping organise a network that used sophisticated social-engineering techniques to gain access t

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

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

Vietnam has formally expanded its anti-money laundering framework to address risks associated with crypto assets, marking another major step towards bringing the country's rapidly developing digital-asset market within the scope of financial regulation. The National Assembly approved amendments to the Law on Anti-Money Laundering alongside changes to legislation governing the State Bank of Vietnam and credit institutions. The amendments were approved with 94.6% of lawmakers v

Brazil is introducing a new safeguard for cryptocurrency transactions that will require regulated institutions to delay certain outbound virtual asset transfers for 24 hours before allowing them to proceed. The measure, adopted by the Central Bank of Brazil, is designed to give financial institutions additional time to identify potentially fraudulent or illicit transactions before digital assets leave their control and are transferred to foreign platforms or privately control

Cryptocurrency exchange HTX has come under renewed scrutiny over changes to its on-chain wallet infrastructure, with blockchain intelligence analysis indicating that the platform has repeatedly rotated wallets across several major networks. The activity has raised concerns among compliance professionals because frequent changes to the addresses used to hold and transfer exchange assets can make it more difficult to identify and monitor the financial flows associated with a la

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has warned that significant regulatory gaps in the oversight of decentralised finance (DeFi) platforms are creating opportunities for money launderers, cybercriminals and sanctioned actors to exploit blockchain-based financial services. In a newly published targeted report, the international standard setter outlines how many jurisdictions have yet to identify DeFi arrangements that fall within existing anti-money laundering (AML) and cou

Organisations across the globe are increasingly struggling to deliver cybersecurity metrics that actually meet the needs of boards, executive leadership, and operational security teams, with the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence significantly deepening this already persistent reporting disconnect. Technology intelligence firm IDC argues that cyber risk has shifted beyond being a purely operational issue and is now an existential business threat capable of bringing

Israel has launched a significant regulatory and enforcement operation targeting cryptocurrency wallets allegedly connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), disrupting what authorities describe as an international shadow banking system responsible for transferring tens of millions of dollars over several years. The initiative, led by the National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing alongside specialized intelligence and defense agencies, underscores the increa

The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned Nobitex, Iran’s largest digital asset exchange, as part of a wider action targeting Iranian crypto infrastructure accused of supporting terrorist financing, sanctions evasion and regime-linked financial activity. The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Nobitex on 2 June 2026, along with three other Iranian digital asset exchanges: Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex. OFAC also sanctioned several individuals connected to Nobitex, inc