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The Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision (OPBAS) has published its latest review into how professional body supervisors oversee the legal and accountancy sectors, pointing to measurable improvements since its establishment in 2018 while warning that deep-rooted weaknesses in enforcement remain unresolved. Although supervisory standards have generally improved over the past several years, the regulator continues to express concern about inconsistent d

The true owners behind nearly 45,000 properties across Britain, with a combined value approaching £190 billion, remain concealed from public view in what experts warn could represent a widespread breach of recently introduced anti-money laundering legislation. The controversy stems from the Economic Crime Act, enacted in March 2022 in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The law required foreign owners of UK property to disclose the “beneficial owner” of any real es

Crude oil prices jumped in early trading on Monday as markets reacted to intensifying tensions in the Middle East and the potential disruption to global energy supplies. Investors weighed the economic consequences of coordinated US and Israeli strikes on Iran, followed by swift retaliatory actions from Tehran that targeted assets across several countries in the region. At the start of trading, the price of US benchmark crude briefly spiked by around 8% before easing sligh

Italy’s financial police, the Guardia di Finanza, have carried out a sweeping judicial operation against a sophisticated transnational criminal organization accused of orchestrating large-scale financial crimes across Europe. The investigation led to the identification of twenty-three suspects who allegedly laundered approximately 900,000 euros generated through a combination of romance scams and fraudulent cryptocurrency investment schemes. The principal suspect is now subje

European law enforcement agencies have carried out a synchronized crackdown on the Camorra, targeting a sophisticated financial crime network tied to large-scale drug trafficking operations spanning the continent. The operation led to the identification of a high-value suspect accused of directing the flow of illicit funds through multiple European jurisdictions, notably France and Italy. Authorities seized luxury real estate assets exceeding 5 million euros in value, along w

The Guardia di Finanza in Ancona has broken up an extensive international money laundering apparatus accused of channeling an extraordinary 5 billion euros through sophisticated underground banking mechanisms. The sweeping operation resulted in seizure orders amounting to 1 billion euros and targeted a criminal infrastructure that provided illicit financial “cleaning” services to thousands of entrepreneurs. As part of the enforcement action, investigators confiscated assets a

The Rouse Avenue Court has fixed April 6 for consideration of a supplementary charge sheet filed in December 2025 against Robert Vadra in a money laundering case connected to alleged arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari. During proceedings, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) submitted that the newly filed supplementary prosecution complaint does not require a pre-cognizance notice, as the court had already taken cognizance of the original charge sheet in the matter. Special Judge Sushan

Industrialist Anil Ambani appeared at the headquarters of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Delhi on February 26 to record his statement in connection with an ongoing money laundering investigation. Ambani arrived at around 11 am after being summoned for questioning in the case. His appearance follows the ED’s attachment of his Mumbai residence, ‘Abode’, located in Pali Hill, valued at Rs 3,716.83 crore. The property was attached under the provisions of the Prevention of Mo

Officials from the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) have returned to the enforcement action against Bank of Scotland Plc, providing a detailed breakdown of the compliance lapses that resulted in a £160,000 fine. The case, linked to the UK’s Russia sanctions regime, underscores how even minor technical oversights in screening processes can allow sanctioned individuals to move capital undetected. By analyzing failures in automated systems and internal escalat

Athens has announced that all options are being considered in the fight against black market gambling, including prison sentences and consumer fines for repeated participation on illegal websites. Greece is moving forward with plans to become the first EU country to introduce a “comprehensive framework” specifically targeting illegal gambling activities and associated crimes. The initiative comes from Kyriakos Pierrakakis, Minister of National Economy and Finance, who is adva

Austria’s chief financial watchdog, Financial Market Authority of Austria, has delivered a decisive administrative ruling against KuCoin EU Exchange GmbH, effectively blocking the cryptocurrency platform from onboarding new clients or rolling out new products after identifying serious deficiencies in its internal governance structure. The enforcement action followed the regulator’s determination that the company no longer retained the mandatory personnel required to oversee r

A 36-year-old assistant manager employed at a high-end watch boutique was brought before the Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, where she claimed trial to 44 counts of money laundering involving a total of RM1.7 million. The accused, Miki Oshiro, entered a plea of not guilty after all charges were read out before three Sessions Court judges — Izralizam Sanusi, Azrul Darus and Norma Ismail. According to the charge sheets, Miki is alleged to have received RM1.7 million i

Binance CEO Richard Teng has publicly challenged a report published by The Wall Street Journal that claimed $1.7 billion in cryptocurrency transactions were connected to sanctioned Iranian entities. The exchange asserted that the article contained inaccuracies and misrepresented its compliance practices. In a statement dated February 23, 2026, Binance disclosed that it had sent a formal letter to the publication demanding corrections and a complete retraction. According to th

The European Central Bank has imposed administrative penalties totaling €12.18 million on J.P. Morgan SE after identifying long-running inaccuracies in the bank’s regulatory reporting. The sanctions stem from systemic errors in the calculation of risk-weighted assets, a core metric underpinning the resilience of the international banking system. Supervisors concluded that, for several years, the institution failed to present an accurate picture of its risk exposure due to def

The global digital identity ecosystem was jolted on November 11, 2025, when security researchers uncovered an unsecured database tied to identity verification provider IDMerit. The exposed repository contained an astonishing one billion personal records spanning twenty-six countries, marking one of the most consequential failures in the protection of sensitive financial and identification data in recent history. As an AI-driven identity verification service, IDMerit aggregate

Sweden’s financial regulator, Finansinspektionen, has announced a formal investigation into Swedbank over suspected shortcomings in customer due diligence procedures during a two-year period ending in 2025. The supervisory authority is examining whether the bank maintained adequate internal safeguards to prevent its systems from being misused by criminal organizations. The probe underscores the pivotal responsibility large retail banks bear in shielding the wider financial sy

Detectives in Nairobi have apprehended a second individual in connection with a multi-million shilling gold fraud scheme that allegedly swindled an American citizen out of USD 217,900. The suspect, Mohammed Noor Muhyadhin Mohammed, was arrested by officers from the Operation Support Unit on allegations of money laundering linked to a fraudulent gold transaction that had promised the delivery of 495 kilograms of gold but ultimately produced nothing. Authorities say the elabora

The Dutch gambling authority, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has issued a penalty order against Polymarket, instructing the cryptocurrency-based prediction platform to halt its operations in the Netherlands or face fines that could reach as much as €840,000 ($994,147). The regulator determined that the platform had violated national regulations by making its services available to Dutch users without the required gambling licence. According to the KSA, the company responsible f

Sweden’s financial watchdog has issued a formal caution and imposed an administrative penalty of 80 million SEK (approximately 7.5 million euros) on Samhällsbyggnadsbolaget i Norden AB (SBB) after identifying serious deficiencies in the company’s financial reporting. The action follows an investigation by Finansinspektionen, which concluded that the firm failed to present an accurate picture of its consolidated financial statements for the 2021 fiscal year. According to the r

The Danish Financial Supervisory Authority has unveiled a wide-ranging strategic initiative aimed at reducing the regulatory load on smaller financial institutions operating within Denmark’s banking sector. The project is designed to introduce a more proportionate supervisory framework for banks that operate primarily on a domestic basis and do not maintain complex or international business models. By concentrating on institutions with straightforward risk profiles, the autho