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UK Law Firm Fined £10,462 Over Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Failures
Castle Sanderson Limited has been ordered to pay a financial penalty of 10,462 pounds after reaching a regulatory settlement with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). The Leeds-based legal practice, which offers services including conveyancing, wills, and probate, was sanctioned following an investigation that identified ongoing deficiencies in its anti-money laundering (AML) systems. Regulators found that the firm failed to maintain sufficient internal policies and did
10 hours ago4 min read


SRA Tightens Scrutiny on Small Law Firms After AML Failures Lead to Fine for Newcastle Practice
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is placing increasing emphasis on supervising smaller legal practices, demonstrated by a recent £1,596 fine issued to a Newcastle-based firm following serious failures in money laundering record-keeping. The enforcement action against Caisson Turner Legal Services reflects a broader shift in regulatory strategy, where smaller firms are no longer shielded from proactive oversight based on their size. The SRA investigation revealed an eight-y
1 day ago4 min read


Estate Agents Hit With Over £800,000 in Fines as HMRC Cracks Down on AML Failures
HM Revenue & Customs has released its latest roster of businesses sanctioned for failing to comply with money laundering regulations, revealing that estate agents make up almost half of all penalties issued during the period. The newly published data, covering enforcement action between 1 April and 30 September 2025, shows that a total of 369 penalties were imposed across all sectors under HMRC supervision, with combined fines amounting to £1,881,237. Of those, 170 penaltie
5 days ago2 min read


Bank Negara Malaysia Penalizes Four Institutions USD 273,614 for AML Reporting Failures
Bank Negara Malaysia has imposed administrative monetary penalties and compounds amounting to USD 273,614 on four separate entities for breaching statutory requirements related to the reporting of suspicious financial transactions. The enforcement actions involve MBSB Bank Berhad, Small Medium Enterprise Development Bank Malaysia Berhad (SME Bank), Boardroom Corporate Services Sdn Bhd, and Ilham Secretarial Services, all of which were found to have fallen short in identifying
Feb 34 min read


Santander Fined Over €40 Million After AML Failures Uncovered at Digital Unit Openbank
Banco Santander SA has been ordered to pay a penalty exceeding €40 million following an extensive supervisory review of the anti-money laundering arrangements at its digital subsidiary, Openbank. Spain’s anti-money laundering authority, Sepblac, concluded that there were material weaknesses in the internal procedures and control systems governing Openbank’s operations in Spain. The sanction, one of the largest ever issued by the watchdog, reflects heightened regulatory pressu
Jan 285 min read


FINRA Fines Cetera Entities $1.1 Million Over AML and Penny Stock Oversight Failures
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has levied a $1.1 million fine and issued a censure against three Cetera entities after uncovering systemic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering (AML) controls and oversight of low-priced securities. The regulatory body determined that from March 2019 through August 2021, Cetera Advisors, Cetera Wealth Services, and Cetera Investment Services “operated a compliance program that was not reasonably designed to detect or
Jan 194 min read


CaixaBank Hit with Record €17.6 Million Fine for Money Laundering Failures
Spanish regulators have confirmed a massive fine of 17,601,000 euros against CaixaBank following serious breaches of anti-money laundering obligations. The administrative decision was officially published in the Official State Gazette under resolution BOE-A-2025-26201 on December 11, 2025, and stems from failures in monitoring high-value property transactions that took place years ago. The penalty, one of the largest ever levied against a Spanish bank for non-compliance with
Jan 164 min read


AMF Sanctions M Capital Partners for Unauthorized Activities and Deep-Seated AML Failures
The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), together with its enforcement committee, has concluded a sanction procedure against M Capital Partners, imposing a total fine of 150,000 euros on the portfolio management company and several of its executives. The decision, rendered on December 31, 2025, targets a series of serious regulatory breaches, notably the provision of investment services without proper authorization and long-standing failures in the firm’s anti-money launder
Jan 75 min read


AUSTRAC Refuses Registration Renewal for Raiyyan Exchange Over AML Failures
Australia’s financial intelligence regulator, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), has refused to renew the registration of independent remitter Yellow Sands Trading Pty Ltd, which operated under the business name Raiyyan Exchange, effectively barring the company from providing money transfer services anywhere in Australia with immediate effect. AUSTRAC’s decision followed the identification of serious and systemic deficiencies in the company’s
Dec 17, 20254 min read
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