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Money Laundering & Terrorist Financing

Over 20 years of articles and reference material

A page dedicated to global, regional, UK and US anti-money laundering developments and initiatives.

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Europol supports FIFA World Cup 2026 security by coordinating global intelligence and deploying specialist teams across the US, Mexico, and Canada to detect, prevent, and respond to criminal threats

June 15, 2026

As the tournament will take place across three countries and involve 48 teams, 104 matches, and millions of fans, it also creates a major security challenge. Large international events like this can attract risks such as terrorism threats, organised crime activity, cyberattacks, ticket fraud, and financial crimes linked to illegal betting…

CoLP reports a sharp rise in courier fraud in 2025, with losses exceeding £21M across 1,891 cases (up nearly 10% year-on-year), mainly targeting victims over 70 through increasingly sophisticated scams

June 15, 2026

The crime mainly affects older people, particularly those over 70, and is most prevalent in London and the Home Counties, which account for around 65% of victims. Fraudsters typically impersonate police officers or bank officials to create fear and urgency, persuading victims to withdraw money, purchase high-value items such as jewellery or gold, or hand them over to a courier. Authorities also report increasingly sophisticated tactics, including prolonged contact via messaging apps like WhatsApp and repeated targeting of victims to maximise losses…

FinCEN issues updated Guidance to clarify how FIs can more broadly share information on suspected fraud and other illicit activity, under section 314(b) of the USA PATRIOT Act

June 12, 2026

The updated guidance confirms that eligible financial institutions may share information with each other about suspected fraud, money laundering, terrorist financing and other specified unlawful activities under section 314(b) of the USA PATRIOT Act. It gives practical examples of shareable information, including surveillance footage, cyber indicators, IP addresses, unusual payee changes, large transfers, linked account identifiers and geographically inconsistent login activity…

GFI’s ‘Cleaning the Foundations’ report finds that at least US$48.8M was laundered through Ghanaian real estate, exposing significant AML and beneficial ownership weaknesses

June 12, 2026

The report examines how illicit financial flows, corruption proceeds and other criminal funds can enter Ghana’s real estate sector, pointing to rapid property price growth, limited beneficial ownership transparency, under-supervised gatekeepers and uneven AML enforcement as key vulnerabilities. It calls for stronger supervision of real estate professionals, better beneficial ownership data, tighter due diligence, improved inter-agency co-ordination and…

UK Govt’s Third Progress Report on the Implementation of the ECCTA 2023, highlights the rollout of identity verification and enhanced Companies House powers to combat fraud, ML and corporate abuse

June 11, 2026

The third statutory progress report on Parts 1 to 3 of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 covers implementation from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, including mandatory identity verification for directors and PSCs, the Authorised Corporate Service Provider regime, stronger register annotation and correction powers, and new protections for personal information. It also records continuing work on limited partnership reform and the Register of Overseas Entities, with Companies House deepening collaboration with the Insolvency Service, HMRC and law enforcement to tackle…

Europol dismantles “AudiA6,” a crypto laundering hub used by ransomware gangs to launder over €336M in illicit funds, exposing its links to more than 15 international cybercrime investigations

June 11, 2026

The network acted as a key cash-out hub, rapidly converting stolen crypto into “cleaned” assets through complex transaction chains designed to obscure the money trail. Authorities arrested suspects in Georgia, seized servers, domains, and assets, and froze additional cryptocurrency, while also uncovering links to the dark web forum “Dark2Web”. Europol linked the service to more than 15 global cybercrime investigations, highlighting the growing industrialisation of crypto laundering within the ransomware ecosystem…

AMLA concludes its First Conference in Frankfurt, spotlighting evolving FC risks from geopolitics, crypto-assets and AI, and reinforcing its combined supervision–financial intelligence mandate

June 11, 2026

Speakers, including EU Commissioner Maria Luís Albuquerque and senior MEPs, emphasised the importance of regulatory convergence, stronger cross-border cooperation, and consistent supervision across the EU. Panel debates focused on improving financial intelligence sharing, leveraging technology to detect illicit flows, and building a more unified and effective EU AML/CFT framework, while AMLA leadership underscored priorities around risk understanding, supervisory consistency, and actionable intelligence going forward…

Open Ownership’s ‘Connecting Ownership Data’ report reveals how fragmented BO registers hinder efforts to trace illicit financial flows, urging greater cross-border interoperability to combat FC

June 11, 2026

The report argues that while more than 100 jurisdictions have established beneficial ownership registers, inconsistencies in data standards, definitions, and access rules continue to hamper investigations. It calls for greater interoperability between ownership registers, improved data quality, and stronger international cooperation to enable authorities to trace illicit financial flows more…

Global Witness’s report ‘Who Buys Rwanda’s Smuggled Coltan?’ reveals how conflict coltan from DRC is entering global supply chains via Rwanda, exposing weaknesses in mineral traceability controls

June 10, 2026

The report says more than 2,000 tonnes of conflict coltan from eastern DRC may have entered international markets via Rwanda, with Rwandan exports more than doubling over three years and seven companies accounting for 85% of the country’s coltan exports. It argues that traceability and due diligence systems have failed to stop conflict minerals reaching smelters in China and Kazakhstan and potentially flowing into products sold by major technology…

Europol supported Belgian authorities in dismantling an Islamic State financing network, convicting 7 members for funding IS operations through cross-border transfers and weapons procurement

June 10, 2026

Seven suspects were convicted in Belgium on 9 June 2026 and sentenced to between five and 15 years in prison, following a Belgian-led investigation into a network mainly composed of Chechen-origin individuals in Europe. Europol says the network financed the release of foreign terrorist fighters detained in Syria, supported Islamic State members in Syria and Central Asia, and helped fund weapons and CBRN-E precursor procurement, with German authorities also securing related sentences earlier in 2026…

UK Govt updates the MLRs 2026, strengthening due diligence for higher-risk scenarios and enhancing crypto oversight, pooled client a/cs, trust registration, transparency, and supervision

June 9, 2026

They also update monetary thresholds from euros to sterling, align cryptoasset regulation with the new FSMA-based framework, and expand oversight of trust and company service providers, including bringing “off-the-shelf” firm sales into scope. The reforms further tighten trust registration rules while introducing a low-risk de minimis exemption, clarify the treatment of reinsurance activities under insurance definitions, and enhance information-sharing…

Europol disrupts a Kosovo-based organised crime network behind an €80M criminal empire, uncovered through SKY ECC encrypted chats exposing large-scale drug trafficking and ML across Europe

June 9, 2026
The group was involved in large-scale drug trafficking, money laundering, weapons offences, and fraudulent document production, operating across several European countries including Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. Over a three-year investigation under Europol’s OTF LIMIT operation, authorities identified key members coordinating international shipments and laundering illicit profits through cross-border channels…
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