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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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Chainalysis Crypto Crime 2026 report, exposes an alarming surge in crypto crime, with $17B lost to scams in 2025, driven by AI-powered fraud and industrialised global criminal networks

April 10, 2026

The report shows that crypto crime is becoming increasingly industrialised, with organised cross-border networks coordinating roles such as recruitment, laundering, and mule account management to scale operations globally. It also emphasises the growing dominance of stablecoins in illicit transactions due to their speed, liquidity, and ease of cross-border movement. At the same time, sanctions evasion and state-linked actors are playing a more visible role in the ecosystem, adding geopolitical complexity to financial crime risks…

Kodex’s ‘Impersonation Risk’ paper highlights how AI-driven impersonation of law enforcement exploits weak email controls in financial services, increasing data breach and compliance risks

April 10, 2026

The paper reveals how attackers are leveraging increasingly sophisticated, AI-driven tactics to craft highly convincing legal requests—exploiting the natural instinct of organisations to cooperate with authorities. It underscores that many firms remain reliant on outdated, email-based verification processes, leaving them vulnerable to spoofing, human error, and cross-border verification challenges…

US Treasury launches a Cybersecurity information-sharing Initiative for the Digital asset industry to provide firms with actionable threat intelligence to strengthen defences against evolving cyber risks

April 9, 2026

This initiative expands access to high-quality cyber threat data traditionally available only to regulated financial institutions, helping firms better identify, prevent, and respond to attacks. It also aligns with broader policy efforts to integrate digital assets into the financial system while reinforcing operational resilience and protecting consumers and market stability…

FCA publishes good and poor practice on improving asset management authorisation applications, warning that weak governance and FC controls often delay approvals

April 9, 2026

It finds that many applications lack sufficient detail, consistency, and clarity on governance structures, business models, and financial crime controls, particularly around AML frameworks, risk assessments, and compliance oversight arrangements. The FCA also notes that firms often submit incomplete documentation or fail to clearly demonstrate how their systems and controls will operate in practice…

Swiss FINMA publishes Guidance on Managing Digital Fraud Risks, warning from a 19-bank survey of rising fraud since 2022 and serious gaps in AML and operational controls as digital threats escalate

April 9, 2026

The regulator warns that digital banking expansion and emerging technologies, including AI, are increasing exposure to fraud and ML, with gaps identified in governance, incident response, and horizon scanning capabilities across several institutions. FINMA stresses the need for robust, organisation-wide risk management frameworks to detect, assess, and mitigate digital fraud risks—particularly in online onboarding and unauthorised account access—to strengthen banks’ resilience against rapidly evolving financial crime threats…

NCA’s Operation Atlantic with US and Canadian partners disrupted a global crypto fraud scheme affecting 20,000+ victims, freezing $12M and identifying a further $45M in illicit funds

April 9, 2026

The operation targeted “approval phishing” scams, where victims are tricked into unknowingly granting criminals access to their crypto wallets. Authorities identified over 20,000 victims across multiple countries, disrupted scam networks, and froze more than $12 million in suspected criminal funds, with a further $45 million in illicit crypto proceeds identified for investigation. The operation highlights the growing scale of cross-border crypto fraud and the importance of real-time international cooperation and industry collaboration to trace…

The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) launches a PMLA portal as a centralised platform to support AML/CFT compliance, strengthening awareness and the fight against FC

April 8, 2026

The portal provides a centralised platform for regulatory guidance, reporting resources and access to relevant notifications to support compliance with India’s Prevention of Money Laundering framework. According to the Institute of Company Secretaries of India, the initiative is intended to enhance transparency and facilitate adherence to AML and CFT obligations among reporting entities…

GFI’s ‘Trade-Related Illicit Financial Flows in Europe’ report finds trade misinvoicing drives major illicit flows – widening value gaps, draining billions, and eroding tax revenues and economic integrity

April 8, 2026

The report quantifies widespread discrepancies between reported imports and exports—“value gaps”—as a proxy for illicit flows, showing that these are concentrated in key economies and remain stable over time rather than declining. It also highlights the role of trade mispricing as a major money laundering and corruption risk, facilitating tax evasion and illicit capital movement while pointing to the need for improved trade transparency, data quality, and cross-border cooperation…

US Treasury proposes rule to regulate payment stablecoin issuers as financial institutions under the GENIUS Act, requiring AML and sanctions compliance to counter illicit finance risks

April 8, 2026

Rules set out detailed obligations for issuers, including suspicious activity reporting, sanctions controls, and the ability to block or freeze unlawful transactions. It also introduces a flexible framework that balances federal and state oversight and aligns regulatory expectations with broader efforts to modernise financial crime supervision…

INTERPOL brings together global law enforcement leaders to shape the future of policing – boosting cooperation to tackle organised crime and AI-driven threats while elevating standards, data use, and leadership

April 8, 2026

The conference also emphasises improving NCB effectiveness through better data-sharing, use of secure systems like NEXUS, alignment with databases such as I-Familia for missing persons, and promoting leadership development particularly for women in policing. Overall, the event reinforces the importance of international collaboration, standardisation, and real-time information exchange to combat…

FinCEN proposes a rule to fundamentally reform AML/CFT programs under the Bank Secrecy Act, shifting from “check-the-box” compliance to risk-based, effectiveness-focused outcomes

April 7, 2026

Reforms introduce clearer distinctions between programme design and implementation, reinforces financial institutions’ responsibility to assess and manage their own risks, and embeds AML/CFT priorities into compliance expectations. It also strengthens FinCEN’s coordinating role in supervisory actions and aligns regulatory requirements with the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 to improve consistency and outcomes across institutions…

HKA ‘From Tick Box to Tactical Advantage’ article examines how outdated FC risk assessments can leave firms exposed, reinforcing regulators expectations for forward-looking, risk-based frameworks

April 7, 2026

The article highlights key failures such as tick-box approaches, lack of data, poor methodology, weak governance, and limited coverage of evolving risks and stresses that risk assessments must become dynamic tools that actively guide decision-making. Ultimately, firms that embed scenario analysis, continuous updates, and strong governance can transform risk assessments from a compliance exercise into a strategic advantage…

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