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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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UAE assumes MENAFATF Presidency for 2026, steering regional AML/CFT efforts, boosting governance and cooperation, preparing for mutual evaluations, and tackling emerging threats from virtual assets and fintech

January 5, 2026

The UAE will oversee preparations for the third round of mutual evaluations under the updated FATF methodology. Focus on emerging financial-crime threats such as virtual assets, fintech innovations, AI, and beneficial ownership transparency. UAE’s presidency is part of a two-year leadership sequence, followed by Bahrain in 2027, ensuring continuity and regional cohesion…

NCA’s UK FIU releases its 2025 SARs Annual Report, highlighting 860,000+ reports filing, stronger asset-denial via DAML, global collaboration, and new digital tools driving AML/CTF effectiveness

December 29, 2025

The report highlights an exceptional year for the UK Financial Intelligence Unit, with over 860,000 SARs received, the highest-ever value of assets denied through Defence Against Money Laundering requests, and continued global leadership in exploiting SARs to disrupt money laundering and criminal finance. It also details strengthened public-private and international cooperation, extensive reporter engagement, and significant advances in SARs IT reform, including the rollout of the new SARs Portal and Digital Service to improve data quality, analytics, and law-enforcement outcomes…

INTERPOL’s six-month Taskforce Operation nets 85 fugitives and tracks 18 more, dismantling high-level networks linked to murder, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and ML across 17 countries

December 29, 2025

Coordinated intelligence sharing and collaboration between law enforcement agencies enabled the identification and disruption of 184 top-priority cases, demonstrating the power of global cooperation in tracking dangerous criminals and dismantling organized crime networks, with further arrests expected as investigations continue…

South Korea’s FIU launches an AML reform taskforce, aiming to tighten crypto rules, prepare for stablecoin oversight, and align with global standards ahead of the 2028 FATF Evaluation review

December 29, 2025

The taskforce will focus on tightening regulation of virtual asset service providers, including expanding the travel rule to cover transfers below KRW 100 million and developing AML measures for upcoming stablecoin rules. It will also seek to align Korea’s AML regime more closely with global standards, including measures such as suspending suspicious accounts during investigations and extending AML obligations…

FATF and the AfDB host a webinar on exiting the FATF Grey List, where South Africa, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, and Tanzania share practical reforms and lessons to achieve and sustain AML/CFT compliance

December 22, 2025

FATF and the African Development Bank jointly organised an online webinar that highlighted success stories and practical pathways for countries that have recently exited the FATF grey list after addressing strategic AML/CFT deficiencies. The session featured panelists from African governments, FIUs and international cooperation groups who discussed reforms undertaken, challenges encountered and best practices to help other jurisdictions strengthen anti-money-laundering and counter-financing frameworks…

FATF publishes its Consolidated Assessment Ratings (2014–2025), offering a global snapshot of how well countries implement AML/CFT standards, spotlighting strengths, gaps, and real progress 

December 22, 2025

The Assessment Ratings resource lists the results that jurisdictions have received for both effectiveness (how well AML/CFT systems work in practice) and technical compliance (alignment of laws and regulations with the FATF Recommendations) based on past mutual evaluations. It is designed to be read alongside the detailed mutual evaluation reports that explain the context behind each rating and highlight strengths, weaknesses and areas for improvement in national AML/CFT frameworks…

FinCEN announces a targeted, data-driven operation on 100+ U.S. MSBs along the southwest border, to tackle potential ML and enforce stricter AML compliance

December 22, 2025

The multi-tiered, data-driven operation using advanced analytics of over one million banking records to identify compliance failures among Southwest border MSBs and address risks of illicit finance. It has already issued investigation notices, IRS examination referrals and numerous compliance outreach letters, signalling that non-compliance with Bank Secrecy Act AML/CFT obligations will trigger civil penalties, enforcement actions and potential criminal referrals…

UNODC-NAUSS’s brief on ‘The Evolution of the Synthetic Drug Market in the Arab Countries’ reveals how crackdowns are disrupting the captagon trade, driving a shift to other synthetics, and urging rapid regional action

December 22, 2025

The joint UNODC and Naif Arab University for Security Sciences (NAUSS) research examines recent changes in synthetic drug markets across Arab countries, noting that intensified interdictions and dismantling of large clandestine production sites have reduced captagon flows and strengthened intelligence cooperation. It highlights initial disruptions in longstanding market patterns and warns of evolving risks—particularly a potential pivot toward methamphetamine and other synthetics—as the landscape adapts to enforcement and supply pressures…

FATF/APG’s Mutual Evaluation Report 2025 finds that, despite basic AML/CFT structures, Maldives’ regime remains weak, with poor oversight, enforcement gaps, and opaque ownership fueling FC risks

December 22, 2025

Key gaps include the absence of a coherent national AML/CFT strategy, weak risk‑based supervision of financial and non‑financial sectors, limited enforcement and sanctions, insufficient measures to counter terrorist financing, and poor transparency around legal persons and beneficial ownership. The report highlights the need for substantial reforms to strengthen national strategy, coordination, supervision, enforcement, and risk-based controls to ensure the Maldives can effectively prevent, detect…

AMLA’s Chair completes the first EU-wide Road Show, deepening partnerships with national authorities, supervisors and FIUs to advance a more coordinated and effective EU AML/CFT framework

December 22, 2025

The purpose was to foster open dialogue on the new EU AML/CFT framework, share perspectives on national risk landscapes and supervisory expectations, and gather practical insights into trends and challenges in combating money laundering and terrorist financing. These discussions aim to strengthen cooperation, build mutual understanding, and inform AMLA’s future work as it supports the development of a more effective and coordinated AML/CFT system across Europe…

INTERPOL’s Operation Sentinel arrests 574 cybercriminals and recovers $3M across 19 African countries, disrupting business email compromise, ransomware, and digital extortion networks

December 19, 2025

Authorities dismantled key criminal infrastructure, including over 6,000 malicious links and six ransomware variants, preventing losses exceeding USD 21 million. Notable successes include stopping a USD 7.9 million BEC transfer in Senegal, recovering 30 terabytes of ransomware-encrypted data in Ghana, dismantling online fraud networks defrauding over 200 victims, shutting down 43 malicious domains and 4,300 social media accounts in Benin, and taking down phishing infrastructure in Cameroon…

FCA introduces changes from March 2026, to give banks and payment providers with robust fraud controls greater flexibility to set their own contactless payment limits, replacing the current fixed cap

December 19, 2025

This move responds to strong consumer demand, with contactless payments accounting for about 95 % of eligible in‑store card transactions in 2024, while maintaining existing fraud protections. Firms will be incentivised to strengthen fraud controls, and consumers may also have the option to set personal limits or disable contactless payments entirely, ensuring both convenience and security in line with evolving technology and inflation pressures…

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