Our extensive knowledge at your fingertips
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
Topics
- Topics
- Accountability
- AML/CTF
- AML/CTF compliance programme
- Anti-corruption
- Artificial intelligence
- Asset Recovery
- Beneficial Ownership
- Biodiversity
- Blockchain
- Bribery & Corruption
- Bribes
- CDD
- Complex structures
- Confiscation & Freezing
- conflict minerals
- Conflict of Interest
- Correspondent Banking
- Corruption
- Counterfeiting
- Crime
- Cross-border finance
- Cryptoassets
- Cryptocurrencies
- Cybercrime
- Data Protection
- Deepfakes
- Democracy
- Digital assets
- Digitalisation
- Drug Trafficking
- EDD
- Enforcement
- Environmental crime
- ESG
- Ethics
- EU ML Directive
- FCPA
- Financial Crime
- Financial Inclusion & Literacy
- Financial Sanctions
- Fines & Enforcements
- FinTech
- FIU
- Fraud
- Gambling
- Greenwashing
- Human Rights
- Human Trafficking
- Illicit Finance
- Illicit Trafficking
- Information Sharing
- Integrity
- Intellectual property
- Investigations
- kleptocracy
- KYC
- Land justice
- Machine Learning
- market manipulation
- Modern Slavery
- Money Laundering (ML)
- NPOs
- Offshore
- OHCHR
- Onboarding
- Organised crime
- Other
- Payments
- PEPs
- Proliferation
- Proliferation of WMD
- Public Officials
- Ransomware
- RegTech
- Risk
- robotics
- Sanctions
- Senior Managers & Certification Regime (SMCR)
- Shell Companies
- Source of wealth & funds
- Stablecoins
- Supervision
- Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
- Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs)
- Tax
- Tax Evasion
- Technology
- Terrorist Financing
- Trade Finance
- Trafficking
- Transaction Monitoring
- Transfers
- Transnational crime
- Transparency
- Travel
- Unexplained Wealth Order
- Virtual Assets
- Virtual currencies
- Whistleblowing
- Wildlife crime
Industry
Organisation
- Organisation
- ABA
- AFA
- AFME
- Afripol
- AMLA
- AMLP
- APPG
- ASC
- Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering
- ASIC
- Atlantic Council
- AUSTRAC
- Austria FMA
- B20
- BAFIN
- BAFM
- Bank of England
- Basel
- BGC
- BIS
- BMA
- BoIJ
- CBUAE
- CCAF
- CFATF
- Charity Commission
- Chatham House
- City of London Police
- CMA
- Companies House
- Corruption Watch
- Council of Europe
- Council of the EU
- CPA
- CPS
- CSSF
- DEA
- Department of Business
- DFSA
- DIT
- DRCF
- EBA
- EBF
- ECB
- EFCC
- EGBA
- Egmont Group
- EPPO
- ESA
- ESAAMLG
- ESMA
- EUDA
- Eurojust
- EuroPAM
- European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)
- European Commission
- European Council
- European Parliament
- European Union (EU)
- Europol
- FATF
- FBI
- FCA
- FCDO
- FCO
- FDIC
- Federal Reserve
- Fenergo
- FFIS
- FIAU
- FinCEN
- FINMA
- FINRA
- FINTRAC
- FIU
- FIU-IND
- FRA
- FSA / FCA
- FSB
- FSC
- FSMA
- G20
- G7
- GABAC
- GAFILAT
- Gambling Commission
- GASA
- GCFCC
- GFI
- GI-TOC
- GIABA
- Global Initiative
- Global Integrity
- Global Witness
- GRECO
- GRETA
- HKMA
- HKSFC
- HM Treasury
- HMCPSI
- HMRC
- Home Office
- House of Commons
- House of Lords
- ICAEW
- ICC
- ICE
- ICIJ
- ICO
- IDB
- IMF
- IMLIT
- Insurance Europe
- Interpol
- IOM FSA
- IPO
- ISO
- J5
- JFSC
- JMLSG
- KoFIU
- KSA
- Law Commission
- Law Society
- MAS
- MENAFATF
- Met Police
- MONEYVAL
- NAO
- NASC
- Nasdaq Verafin
- Nature Needs More
- NCA
- NECC
- NED
- Netherlands FIOD
- Nice Actimize
- NYDFS
- OAG
- OCC
- OCCRP
- OECD
- OFAC
- OFSI
- OLAF
- OPBAS
- OSCE
- Other
- OTSI
- PNF
- PRA
- project CRAAFT
- PSR
- PwC
- RBI
- RUSI
- Sayari
- SEBI
- SEC
- SEPA
- SFO
- Singapore Police Force
- Spotlight on corruption
- SRA
- Sweden FI
- Swiss Federal Council
- Swiss OAG
- Tax Justice Network
- TFG
- TRACE
- TRACFIN
- Traffic
- Transparency International
- TRNC
- TRP
- UK Border Force
- UK Finance
- UK Govt
- UK Police Foundation
- UKACC
- UKPI
- UN
- UNODC
- US BIS
- US DEA
- Us DoC
- US DoJ
- US DoS
- US Govt
- US Sec
- US Senate
- US Treasury
- USAID
- VISA
- Wall Street Journal
- WCO
- White House
- Wolfsberg
- World Bank
Jurisdiction
- Jurisdiction
- Afghanistan
- Andorra
- Asia
- Australia
- Austria
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Berlin
- Bermuda
- Botswana
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Cayman Islands
- China
- Colombia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- EU
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Ghana
- Gibraltar
- Global
- Greece
- Guernsey
- Hong Kong
- India
- Iran
- Ireland
- Isle of Man
- Israel
- Japan
- Jersey
- Kenya
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malaysia
- Malta
- Mauritiania
- Mexico
- Middle East
- Monaco
- Myanmar
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Nigeria
- North Korea
- Norway
- Other
- Poland
- Romania
- Russia
- San Marino
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- South Africa
- Spain
- Sudan
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- UAE
- UK
- Ukraine
- Uruguay
- US
- Uzbekistan
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
EFTA Court in Luxembourg rules that access to beneficial ownership data requires a legitimate interest, balancing transparency with privacy and warning against rigid rules that hinder AML efforts
This ruling reinforces stricter transparency standards under AML regulations, particularly in light of the European Court of Justice’s annulment of certain provisions in the Fifth AML Directive that previously eased access to such information. The judgment clarifies that while national laws govern procedural aspects, they must align with EEA law principles, ensuring access is granted only when necessary, appropriate…
Europol disrupts the global cybercrime market by targeting websites that sold DDoS attacks for just €10, leading to multiple arrests and seizure of malicious domains
The now defunct platforms – Cfxapi, Cfxsecurity, neostress, jetstress, quickdown and zapcut – are thought to have facilitated widespread attacks on schools, government services, businesses, and gaming platforms between 2022 and 2025. The platforms offered slick interfaces that required no technical skills. Users simply entered a target IP address, selected the type and duration of attack, and paid the fee — automating attacks that could overwhelm even well-defended websites…
AMLA’s Chair Bruna Szego calls for stronger cross-sector cooperation at Dublin EAFCS, prioritising operational foundations, enhanced FIU and supervisory coordination, and unified action against ML/TF
Bruna emphasised the importance of unifying efforts across sectors to combat ML/TF, which undermine EU economic and democratic stability. AMLA’s dual mandate—supervision and FIU coordination—presents opportunities to break down silos and strengthen the AML/CFT framework. She also stressed the need for raising awareness of changes in AML systems…
Europol warns of surging biometric fraud, with criminals using deepfakes and synthetic voices in presentation attacks to exploit system vulnerabilities, urging stronger security measures
Europol warns that fingerprint, face, iris, and voice systems can be duped by methods like fake molds, masks, deepfakes, and replay attacks, urging law enforcement to adopt liveness checks, standards, and robust data protection while collaborating across biometrics, forensics, and cybersecurity to stay ahead of evolving threats…
OLAF leads major EU-wide crackdown, seizing 1.8m luxury counterfeit items worth €180m and dismantling global smuggling networks
The cross-border operation seized over 1.8 million counterfeit fashion items smuggled into the EU in containers disguised with legitimate textiles. The high-quality fakes featured fake logos of luxury brands and were meticulously crafted to deceive even brand experts…
Eurojust uncovers a major ML scheme led by a Ukrainian entrepreneur, funneling illicit arms profits through real estate, with €57m frozen in France for return to Ukraine
The suspect is the son of a prominent entrepreneur in Ukraine, who owned a defence company. Following the Russian invasion, profits began to decline, and the owners are suspected of having illegally sold their majority stake to representatives of a foreign state. To hide the illegal profits gained from the sale, the owner’s son bought properties, in several countries including France and Monaco…
ESMA launches consultation on ESG rating standards, focusing on transparency, conflict mitigation, and robust disclosure requirements, deadline set for 20 June 2025
This move comes in response to growing concerns about the transparency and potential conflicts of interest in how ESG ratings are developed and used by market participants. The proposed standards outline the information ESG rating providers must include in their applications for authorisation, the safeguards they should implement to manage conflicts of interest—particularly when they engage in other commercial activities…
Dutch AFM tightens crypto AML rules with a new Annex to its AML/CTF Guidelines, enforcing the Travel Rule and enhanced controls and CDD to bolster the fight against financial crime
This move follows the formal recognition of CASPs as “financial institutions” under the Wwft, effective from February 4, 2025. The annex outlines targeted compliance expectations and practical guidance for CASPs, including obligations related to customer due diligence, transaction monitoring, and adherence to the EU’s Transfer of Funds Regulation (TFR), notably the Travel Rule…
Swiss FINMA 2025 Consumer Protection Report raises alarm over unregulated financial advice on AI platforms and social media, fueling fraud and social manipulation, urging tougher oversight
FINMA warns of increasing consumer risks driven by digitalisation and viral financial trends on social media and AI platforms, where unregulated advice from AI tools and “finfluencers” is promoting high-risk investments like crypto and unlisted shares. Fraud cases, particularly those involving social manipulation where consumers are deceived into transferring money, have surged…
EBA launches an ESG dashboard to provide centralised, comparable climate risk indicators for the EU/EEA banking sector, focusing on transition risks, green financing, and low green asset ratios
The dashboard reveals a significant exposure of EU/EEA banks to sectors that contribute heavily to climate change, raising concerns over potential transition risks as these companies may be impacted by policy changes, technological shifts, or evolving consumer preferences. While physical risks are somewhat lower, with most countries showing exposures below 30%, the dashboard emphasizes the growing importance of monitoring…
Latvia’s 2024 FIU report reveals key AML developments and strategic priorities, focusing on sanctions centralisation and stronger customs controls amid rising financial crime threats
The report outlines key strategic priorities, with particular emphasis on the centralization of sanctions implementation functions to streamline enforcement and increase efficiency. A notable achievement was the prevention of over 8,500 shipments of sanctioned goods, reflecting enhanced controls at Latvia’s customs checkpoints. These measures were implemented to strengthen the country’s defenses against illicit financial activities…
Estonia FIU highlights a sharp rise in ML and sanctions evasion risks in 2024, driven by fraud and remote gambling, leading to €5.7m in asset seizures, tech upgrades and tighter oversight
In its annual report for 2024, Estonia’s FIU found that fraud, tax crimes, and sophisticated sanction‑evasion schemes continued to drive money laundering risks in 2024, with the expanding remote gambling sector adding new vulnerabilities. Despite strong reporting from credit institutions, gaps remain among other obliged entities and state bodies, leading to enhanced tech measures, administrative actions, and €5.7 million in seized assets…