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A 26-year-old California man has been sentenced to seven years and 10 months in federal prison for his role in a $10 million real estate fraud scheme involving fake identities, shell companies, fabricated property documents and the laundering of proceeds through Las Vegas casinos. Gilberto Barron, formerly of Delano and Las Vegas, was sentenced on September 28, 2026, by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston. He pleaded guilty on June 29 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud,

France’s National Sanctions Commission has imposed a combined €45,000 in financial penalties on an anonymised licensed online betting operator and two individuals following breaches of obligations relating to asset freezing and anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist-financing controls. The case was referred to the National Sanctions Commission by France’s gambling regulator, the Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ), following an inspection of the operator. It represents the

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has issued final guidelines establishing a new framework for the management of third-party risks associated with services supporting critical or important functions at financial institutions. Published on 18 September 2026, the Guidelines on the sound management of third-party risk related to non-ICT services are intended to replace the EBA’s 2019 Guidelines on outsourcing arrangements and create a broader framework covering third-party re

U.S. authorities and Guatemalan justice officials are strengthening cooperation aimed at disrupting the financial networks supporting transnational cartel activity, with investigations expected to focus on fraud, bulk cash movements, trade-based money laundering, cryptocurrency and other methods used to move illicit proceeds across borders. U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould and Criminal Chief Fabio Leonardi of the Northern District of Texas travelled to Guatemala during the week of

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

A Russian financial technology group known as A7 allegedly moved more than $6.9 billion through the international banking system using front companies, forged commercial documents and other methods designed to conceal the nature and origin of transactions, according to an investigation based on hundreds of thousands of leaked internal files. The investigation concerns A7, a cross-border payments business established in late 2024 with backing from Russian state-owned Promsvyaz

Spain has allowed a US request to extradite American national James Cox Chambers to proceed to judicial review, following his arrest in Ibiza in July 2026. The decision does not constitute approval of his extradition. The case will now be considered by Spain’s Audiencia Nacional before the Spanish government makes a final determination. Chambers, 41, was arrested on 10 July while visiting Ibiza and remains in pre-trial detention in Madrid. He is a US citizen and has been desc

Barbados is preparing to strengthen the practical application of its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing framework ahead of its fifth international mutual evaluation, with the government emphasizing that controls must extend beyond banks and other financial institutions. Attorney General Wilfred Abrahams addressed the issue in the Senate on September 23, 2026, during debate on the Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (Prevention and Control) Amendment

The Senate of American Samoa has given final approval to the Money Laundering Prevention and Enforcement Act of 2026, establishing a dedicated criminal-law framework targeting the laundering of proceeds derived from criminal activity. The legislation was approved by the Senate on September 23, 2026. The measure is intended to create clear criminal offences covering the concealment, movement and handling of money obtained through unlawful activity in American Samoa. The bill f

British authorities have frozen a London townhouse purchased for £53 million after official property records identified a connection between the property's registered owner and a person subject to UK financial sanctions. The property, located in Belgravia, was purchased in October 2023 by Zhao Chen, who is not herself designated under UK sanctions. The restriction was placed on the property in August 2026. Land Registry documents show that Zhao Chen acquired the property for

The UK Gambling Commission has suspended the combined remote operating licence of Targetlocal Ltd, which trades as Ken Howell’s Sports Betting and operates the website kenhowells.com, following regulatory enquiries that identified anti-money laundering failings. The suspension took effect immediately on 21 September 2026 and applies to operating licence number 000422-R-336567-002. The affected licence covers Targetlocal’s online casino, sports betting and virtual event bettin

Former Nodus International Bank chief executive Tomás Niembro Concha has been sentenced to 112 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to a multimillion-dollar wire fraud conspiracy and a separate conspiracy to evade US sanctions involving Venezuela. Niembro, 64, a Spanish and Venezuelan national and former CEO of the Puerto Rico-based international bank, was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit more than $16.9 million. The forfeit

Three UK company directors have been convicted and fined in the first prosecutions brought for breaches of the Companies House identity verification requirements introduced under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. The cases were announced on 17 September 2026 and represent an early enforcement action under the new identity verification regime. The directors were fined £166, £307 and £80 respectively following proceedings brought by the Insolvency Service.

The US Senate failed to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act on 15 September 2026, leaving provisions affecting prediction markets unresolved as the legislation did not obtain the votes required to proceed. The cloture motion on the motion to proceed to H.R. 3633 failed by a vote of 49-50, with 60 votes required. Senator Thom Tillis subsequently entered a motion to reconsider the vote. The CLARITY Act was designed to establish a federal regulatory framework for digita

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Milan has conducted searches and frozen assets worth €2.6 million as part of an investigation into suspected fraud involving resources from Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), which is financed through the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). The frozen assets form part of a €4.9 million order issued by the judge for preliminary investigations at the Court of Milan against four companies a

Spain’s 17 autonomous communities have jointly defended their regulatory responsibilities over land-based gambling and called for greater regional participation in national decisions affecting the sector. The position was set out in a joint document submitted on 7 September 2026 to the Directorate-General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ) and the Gambling Policy Council. The document concerns the division of responsibilities between Spain’s central government and its auto

Google is preparing to introduce revised requirements for its gambling advertising certification process, with the updated rules set to apply from October 2026 to advertisers operating in gambling-related markets. The changes were announced by Google on 14 September 2026 through an update to its Gambling and Games policy. Under the revised framework, advertisers will be expected to maintain what Google refers to as “good policy health” in order to remain eligible for gambling

Six Indian nationals have been charged in Fiji following the alleged non-declaration of foreign currency worth approximately FJ$183,000 and separate allegations that the funds were derived from unlawful activity. The six were intercepted by officers from the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS) on 12 July 2026 while preparing to leave Fiji. Authorities allege that they were carrying various foreign currencies with a combined value of approximately FJ$183,000 and had not de

The United States Department of Justice has filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking approximately $61 million in cryptocurrency that prosecutors allege represents proceeds from the black-market sale of sanctioned Iranian crude oil and petroleum products. The complaint, filed in the Southern District of New York, targets cryptocurrency held across a network of addresses and alleges that the funds were ultimately intended to benefit the Government of Iran and Iranian militar

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has proposed new payment-integrity requirements covering merchant payment arrangements in the Philippines, including stricter controls on layered payment structures, greater identification of merchants and ultimate recipients, and the establishment of a centralized national QR-code merchant database. The proposed rules would amend the BSP’s Manual of Regulations for Payment Systems and apply to BSP-supervised institutions, payment system