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Chinese businessman and self-styled dissident Guo Wengui has been sentenced to 30 years in U.S. prison, bringing one of the most politically charged financial crime cases in recent years to a decisive courtroom conclusion. Guo, also known as Miles Guo, Miles Kwok and Ho Wan Kwok, was sentenced in Manhattan after being convicted in July 2024 of multiple offences connected to a sprawling fraud that prosecutors said targeted his own online supporters. The case combined familiar

French financial intelligence unit TRACFIN has brought renewed attention to one of the most persistent money laundering risks in Europe: corporate cash-out networks that allow businesses to convert bank transfers into physical cash while disguising the movement as legitimate commercial activity. The case, involving an alleged €34 million laundering network, shows how ordinary-looking companies can be used to move funds through cross-border structures before returning value to

The Dutch gambling regulator has imposed a €3.082 million fine on Chestoption Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada for offering online gambling to players in the Netherlands without the required licence. The decision, published by the Kansspelautoriteit, adds to a wider enforcement campaign against offshore gambling operators that continue to target Dutch consumers despite not being licensed under the country’s regulated online gambling framework. The case is particularly sig

The European Union has extended its economic sanctions against Russia for another year, confirming that restrictions linked to the war in Ukraine are no longer being treated as short-term emergency measures but as a long-term part of Europe’s regulatory and commercial environment. On 25 June 2026, the Council of the European Union renewed the restrictive measures imposed in response to Russia’s continuing actions destabilising Ukraine. The measures will now remain in force un

The UK Financial Conduct Authority has censured CACEIS UK and secured a £31.7 million voluntary payment for affected clients after finding serious weaknesses in the firm’s financial crime controls. CACEIS UK, an asset servicing bank within the Crédit Agricole group, was criticised for failing to act on information that exposed clients to financial crime risk. The FCA said the firm did not respond adequately to warning signs and failed to properly monitor accounts after open

The Netherlands is preparing another major tightening of its online gambling market, with the government moving toward a full ban on online gambling advertising and bonuses. The proposal forms part of a wider reform package aimed at reducing gambling harm, strengthening player protection and giving the Dutch gambling regulator more power over both licensed and illegal operators. If implemented, the measures would mark one of the most restrictive approaches to online gamblin

The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates has imposed a major financial penalty on the UAE branch of a foreign bank, reinforcing the country’s tougher approach to anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing and sanctions compliance. The enforcement action consists of an AED 20 million penalty against the foreign bank branch, equivalent to approximately USD 5.44 million, following supervisory examinations that identified significant and repeated weaknesses in the i

Nepal’s former finance minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel has been detained as part of an ongoing money-laundering investigation, in a case that adds further pressure to the country’s old political establishment and strengthens the new government’s anti-corruption agenda. Paudel was arrested in late June 2026, with police describing the case as a money-laundering matter. Nepal’s Special Court subsequently ordered him to remain in judicial custody for seven days while investigato

Portugal has closed the remaining file in the Monte Branco investigation, bringing an end to one of the country’s most prominent and long-running financial-crime cases. The case, which was widely described as one of Portugal’s largest investigations into tax fraud and money laundering, was formally archived on 12 June 2026. Its closure ends a legal process that had stretched across more than a decade and had become a reference point for the challenges involved in pursuing com

Artificial intelligence is becoming a serious part of the anti-money laundering conversation, but the newest development is not simply about making transaction monitoring faster. The more important shift is that researchers are now trying to train machines to anticipate how money launderers may adapt before those methods appear in real financial data. A research team at the University of Southern California’s Viterbi School of Engineering is working on a project funded by

Europol and INTERPOL have reinforced their collaboration in response to growing global criminal threats, marking a step that highlights how organised crime, cybercrime, fraud, and illicit financial activity are increasingly operating on an international scale. The renewed cooperation framework, announced on 22 June 2026, is designed to enhance coordination between two of the most significant global law-enforcement cooperation institutions. Europol continues to support Eur

The Financial Action Task Force is moving global anti-money laundering expectations into a more operational phase, with recent updates showing a clear shift away from purely formal compliance and towards practical effectiveness, stronger payment transparency, sanctions implementation and better detection of cross-border financial crime. The latest developments follow the FATF Plenary held between 17 and 19 June 2026, where members approved a series of initiatives dealing wi

The EU’s new Anti-Money Laundering Authority has published a detailed recap of its first major conference, giving fresh insight into how Europe’s financial crime framework is being reshaped ahead of AMLA’s move into direct supervision. The conference itself took place on 9 June 2026 at the Alte Oper in Frankfurt am Main, but AMLA’s official recap was published on 23 June 2026. That makes the update relevant now, not because the event happened yesterday, but because AMLA has

The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that a person’s inclusion on a United States sanctions list is not, by itself, sufficient grounds for an EU bank to refuse to open a basic payment account. The judgment, delivered on 11 June 2026 in Case C-81/24, Jenec, is an important clarification for banks, payment institutions and compliance teams operating in the European Union. It confirms that non-EU sanctions listings, including those maintained by the US Office o

Ireland has launched a new national initiative to strengthen its response to financial crime, fraud, money laundering and terrorist financing, as authorities warn that criminal networks are becoming more sophisticated, more technology-driven and more capable of exploiting gaps between public agencies, regulators and private-sector businesses. The initiative, launched by Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris together with Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migra

The Bank of England has softened key parts of its proposed stablecoin regime, marking an important shift in the United Kingdom’s attempt to regulate digital money without undermining innovation in the payments sector. The central bank published its policy statement and draft rules for sterling-denominated systemic stablecoins on 22 June 2026. The framework is intended to support the use of stablecoins as trusted digital money in the UK, while protecting financial stability,

The Financial Action Task Force’s June 2026 plenary has produced a fresh update to the global anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing watchlists, with two jurisdictions added to increased monitoring and two removed after completing their action plans. The latest changes are relevant not only for financial institutions and compliance professionals, but also for international businesses, investors, professional advisers and anyone monitoring financial crime, sanct

The Philippines has introduced a far-reaching regulatory framework designed to strengthen oversight of digital asset transactions and the platforms that facilitate them. The new administrative directive establishes stringent requirements for digital asset service providers, compelling them to conduct extensive investigations before any cryptocurrency, token, or other virtual asset can be approved for listing and public distribution. Through this enhanced supervisory approach,

Prediction markets are becoming one of the most closely watched gambling-related issues of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as regulators and sports stakeholders examine whether these platforms should be treated as financial trading venues, gambling products or something in between. The debate has intensified during the tournament because prediction markets are now being promoted to football audiences in a way that closely resembles mainstream sports betting. These platforms allow us

Virtual asset service providers operating across the United Arab Emirates are being required to strengthen their compliance infrastructures in line with the latest anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing guidance issued by the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). The updated regulatory expectations compel firms to conduct comprehensive evaluations of operational vulnerabilities in order to reduce exposure to financial crime, terrorist financing activities