Log in/out

Our extensive knowledge at your fingertips

Money Laundering & Terrorist Financing

Europe

This section covers AML/CTF initiatives by European Commission, Council of Europe MONEYVAL, European Parliament, Europol and other related EU organisations.

New EU AML Package
Sixth EU ML Directive
Fifth EU ML Directive 
Fourth EU ML Directive 
Third EU ML Directive
European Commission Financial Crime
European Parliament Committee on Organised Crime, Corruption and ML
European Banking Federation Annual Overview of AML legislative measures
Europol Law Enforcement updates
MONEYVAL Evaluations
MONEYVAL Typologies

And many more…

Sections

Latest editions

Search

U

Europol backs a Spanish crackdown on a money-laundering ring exploiting Ukrainian women, with 12 arrests and exposing links between sexual exploitation and organised financial crime

March 5, 2026

The investigation led to 12 arrests in Spain (eight in Alicante and four in Valencia), nine property searches, and the identification of 55 victims. The group allegedly recruited and controlled Ukrainian women, forcing them into prostitution while laundering the illicit profits through a network of bank accounts and financial channels, highlighting the close links between human trafficking, sexual exploitation, and organised money-laundering operations…

Europol spearheads a global public-private crackdown on Tycoon 2FA, a phishing-as-a-service platform targeting multi-factor authentication, seizing 330+ domains to disrupt cyber-enabled financial fraud

March 4, 2026

The platform provided ready-made phishing kits, infrastructure, and support to thousands of users, enabling large-scale account takeovers and cyber-enabled financial fraud targeting banks, payment services, and online platforms. In the joint action, law-enforcement authorities and private-sector partners seized over 330 domains linked to the service’s infrastructure, disrupting a major tool used to facilitate global phishing campaigns and wider cyber-enabled financial crime…

Europol coordinates a global crackdown on LeakBase, a cybercrime forum with 142,000+ users trading stolen data and hacking tools, triggering around 100 enforcement actions to disrupt cyber-enabled FC

March 4, 2026

The platform, active since 2021 with more than 142,000 registered users, hosted leaked databases, compromised credentials, and hacking tools widely used for fraud, identity theft, and other cyber-enabled crimes. In coordinated actions on 3–4 March 2026, authorities across several countries carried out around 100 enforcement measures, including arrests, house searches, and suspect interviews, while seizing the forum’s domains and data to identify additional offenders and disrupt the wider cybercrime ecosystem…

Europol helps dismantle a Europe–Latin America cocaine network linked to the Los Lobos cartel, with 16 arrests, 26 raids and 4+ tonnes seized, exposing a major transnational illicit-finance scheme

March 3, 2026

Authorities in Ecuador, Belgium and the Netherlands arrest 16 suspects, raid 26 properties and seize cash, firearms and vehicles while targeting a network that used fruit-export businesses to conceal cocaine shipments bound for European ports. The investigation also intercepts major consignments—including several tonnes of cocaine seized in Dutch and Belgian ports—and exposes cooperation between the Ecuadorian cartel and an Albanian trafficking network responsible for distributing the drugs across Europe…

EPPO’s 2025 Annual Report warns that cross-border VAT and customs fraud are reshaping the EU criminal landscape, causing €45B in losses – triggering investigations, indictments, & asset freezes

March 2, 2026

Criminals exploit cross-border trade in legal goods to evade detection while generating massive illicit profits. EPPO’s activity has expanded significantly, managing 3 602 active cases (a 35 % increase from 2024), opening 2 030 new investigations, and securing a 34 % rise in indictments, with courts granting asset freezes exceeding €1.13 billion. The report highlights the urgent need for EU-wide coordination, stronger enforcement, and innovative investigative approaches to combat sophisticated VAT and customs fraud and protect…

Eurojust and Europol trace a complex financial trail to dismantle a Camorra and ’Ndrangheta-linked cocaine and ML network, seizing over €5 M in assets, €600K in cryptocurrency, and €26K in cash

February 26, 2026

Working alongside national authorities and the Europol, investigators uncovered a sophisticated operation that trafficked cocaine from South America into Europe while laundering proceeds through shell companies, false invoicing, luxury assets and cryptocurrency. Coordinated raids across France, Italy, Belgium and Switzerland led to seven arrests, including a key suspect, and the seizure of luxury vehicles, real estate…

EBA and ESMA launch a consultation to harmonise ‘fit-and-proper’ checks for senior bank and investment leaders, proposing clearer supervision, standardised suitability, and stronger AML safeguards – feedback by 25 May 2026

February 25, 2026

The proposed updates revise joint guidelines governing how institutions assess the suitability of management-body members and key function holders, reflecting legislative changes introduced under CRD VI and aiming to strengthen governance, competence and integrity standards across the EU financial sector. In parallel, the EBA consults on draft regulatory technical standards to harmonise the information large institutions must submit to supervisors during suitability assessments, supporting greater supervisory…

GI‑TOC’s 2025 Global Organised Crime Index shows that despite Europe’s 6.28 resilience score, rising FC, cyber fraud, expanding drug markets, and human trafficking signal evolving organised‑crime threats

February 25, 2026

The analysis finds that Europe demonstrates comparatively strong resilience to organised crime due to relatively robust governance, law-enforcement capacity and regulatory frameworks, although criminal markets remain active and increasingly sophisticated across the region. It also highlights the growing role of transnational criminal networks and professional facilitators that exploit legitimate businesses, logistics systems and financial channels to transport illicit goods and launder criminal proceeds…

AMLA welcomes the Council of the EU’s decision to appoint Ms Hennie Verbeek‑Kusters, Head of the Dutch FIU and former Chair of the Egmont Group, as its 5th Executive Board Member

February 24, 2026

Ms Verbeek‑Kusters joins AMLA with deep and long-standing expertise in financial intelligence. She has led the FIU- the Netherlands since 2008 and has twice served as Chair of the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units, contributing significantly to international cooperation in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing…

Europol’s joint operation in Ukraine, Poland, and Moldova seize over $260K in cash, dismantle 36 synthetic drug labs, and arrest 103 suspects in a major blow to international trafficking networks

February 19, 2026

The network, allegedly led by a Ukrainian organiser with links to Polish criminal groups, specialised in producing synthetic cathinones such as alpha-PVP and used legitimate business structures in Poland and Lithuania to import chemical precursors and equipment, helping conceal illicit operations. Authorities seized large quantities of drugs and precursors, significant cash in multiple currencies, virtual assets worth about $45,000, and 41 vehicles, highlighting the group’s diversified financial footprint. Europol provided real-time intelligence…

MONEYVAL’s 6th Mutual Evaluation Report praises Latvia’s progress on ML/TF, noting strong banking oversight and an effective FIU, while urging tighter non-financial oversight & faster asset recovery

February 18, 2026

In it’s Report, MONEYVAL recognises that Latvia has made notable advances in legal reforms, risk understanding and implementation of anti-money-laundering, counter-terrorist-financing and counter-proliferation-financing measures. However, it highlights the need to enhance supervision and risk-based controls in specific non-financial sectors to ensure consistent and effective application of the AML/CFT/CNPJ framework…

AMLA launches consultations on 3 draft RTS covering CDD, Enforcement & sanctions and Business Relationships to strengthen and harmonise EU AML/CFT rules – feedback in March & May 2026

February 18, 2026

The proposals cover criteria for identifying business relationships and occasional transactions, updated customer due diligence (CDD) rules with risk‑sensitive verification and ongoing monitoring standards, and a common supervisory approach to enforcement of AML/CFT obligations. AMLA has set deadlines for feedback on the Business Relationships RTS by 9 March 2026 and on the CDD and Enforcement RTS by 8 May 2026, and will host a public hearing on 24 March 2026.

No results found.