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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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AUSTRAC opens enrolment for newly regulated ‘tranche 2’ professions, marking a key step in expanding the AML/CTF regime, with enrolment from 31 March 2026 and full compliance required by 1 July 2026

March 31, 2026

The reforms will expand AUSTRAC’s oversight from 19,000 to nearly 100,000 businesses, marking the most significant overhaul in over 20 years and aiming to close long-standing gaps exploited by criminals, particularly in financial and property transactions. Newly covered businesses will be required to implement AML/CTF programs, customer due diligence, suspicious matter reporting, and record-keeping, while existing entities must provide enhanced…

HM Treasury introduces targeted reforms to the UK’s money laundering regulations to improve effectiveness, close loopholes and deliver a more proportionate, risk-based regime

March 30, 2026

The reforms amend the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 to address weaknesses identified through consultation, including issues relating to customer due diligence, cryptoasset regulation, trust registration and supervisory coordination. According to HM Treasury, the measures are designed to strengthen the UK’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing framework while reducing unnecessary compliance burdens and improving proportionality for firms.

FinCEN announces a targeted enforcement initiative to disrupt Govt healthcare-related fraud schemes, using intelligence-led analysis to detect and stop ML networks abusing U.S. public benefit systems

March 30, 2026

The initiative focuses on identifying and combating networks involved in healthcare-related fraud, money laundering, and misuse of public benefit programs, using enhanced data analysis, inter-agency coordination, and enforcement actions to trace illicit flows and hold perpetrators accountable. It reflects FinCEN’s growing emphasis on data-driven, intelligence-led financial crime enforcement to safeguard the integrity of the financial system and public resources…

US DoJ updates its Corporate Enforcement Policy, urging companies to voluntarily disclose potential national security law violations, including export control and sanctions breaches

March 30, 2026

US DoJ confirms that disclosures relating to export controls, sanctions, terrorism financing, and foreign investment risks fall within NSD’s remit and should be centrally coordinated through a dedicated reporting channel. It also underscores that timely self-reporting, full cooperation, and remediation can lead to significant enforcement benefits, including potential declinations of prosecution under the Department-wide policy…

AUSTRAC highlights ECDD as a key tool for crypto ATM providers to detect suspicious activity, identify high-risk customers, and act swiftly against ML and scams

March 30, 2026

Since September 2025, crypto ATM providers have been subject to enhanced regulatory conditions—including transaction limits, mandatory scam warnings, and targeted ECDD triggers—significantly strengthening their ability to detect and disrupt financial crime; these measures are enabling providers to identify complex and high-risk transaction patterns, verify source of funds, and take early action, with real case examples revealing large cash transactions, structuring behaviour, and potential money laundering leading to account closures, suspicious matter reports, and referrals to law…

FinCEN proposes a rule to fully implement its Whistleblower programme, offering 10–30% of recovered penalties to incentivise insiders to expose fraud, sanctions breaches, and illicit finance

March 30, 2026

The rule outlines a robust whistleblower framework covering violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, U.S. sanctions, and other financial crime laws, enabling individuals to securely submit tips and apply for awards, with 10–30% of monetary penalties available for successful cases, strong anti-retaliation protections in place, and a 60-day public consultation period, all aimed at enhancing the detection of fraud, sanctions breaches, and broader illicit finance…

IMF’s Cyber Events and Digital Fraud in Financial Sector report finds cyber incidents account for 10% of global cases, while cyber-enabled fraud has nearly tripled and remains widely underreported

March 27, 2026

The paper examines global trends in cyber events and digital fraud affecting the financial sector using multi-source data, including cyber incident databases, official fraud statistics, and industry surveys. It finds a sharp rise in both cyberattacks and fraud over the past decade, driven by rapid digitalisation of financial services, increased system interconnectivity, and growing reliance on digital payments. Cyber incidents are shown to be highly concentrated in advanced economies and financial hubs, with banks and securities markets among the most targeted subsectors….

NCA issues an Invoice Fraud Leaflet warning that criminals are targeting the construction industry through fake invoices, supplier impersonation, and email interception to divert payments

March 25, 2026

One-page advisory identifies common red flags such as urgent payment requests, unexpected changes to bank details, and discrepancies in invoice information, often enabled by intercepted or spoofed communications. It also sets out practical mitigation measures, including independent verification of payment details, dual authorisation for high-value transactions, and improved cybersecurity and staff awareness to reduce vulnerability…

NCA investigates after UK Border Force seized £80M of cocaine from a Panama shipment at London Gateway port, uncovering a major trafficking route hidden among legitimate goods bound for Norway

March 24, 2026

The drugs were discovered inside a shipping container arriving from Panama, concealed among legitimate goods including ceramics and kitchenware and destined for onward shipment to Norway. The seizure forms part of ongoing international efforts to disrupt large-scale drug trafficking networks, with the NCA now working with global partners to trace the criminal supply chain behind the shipment…

OCCRP reveals a billion-dollar scheme tied to Taiwanese organised crime, where networks laundered over $1B through Macau casinos using recruited money mules” to exploit credit card systems

March 24, 2026

Individuals were recruited to artificially inflate credit limits, purchase large volumes of casino chips, and then cash them out, effectively transforming illicit proceeds into seemingly legitimate gambling winnings; this typology reflects classic placement and layering stages of ML, exploiting weaknesses in casino AML controls, customer due diligence, and cross-border transaction monitoring, while also raising concerns around complicit or negligent financial…

UNODC and INTERPOL convene 1,300+ leaders at the 2026 Global Fraud Summit to tackle the $442B fraud surge, AI-driven scams, and launch new tools for stronger global collaboration

March 23, 2026

UNODC and INTERPOL, supported by Canada, Singapore, the UK, and private-sector partners including Amazon, Meta, Santander, TikTok, and the Global Anti-Scam Alliance, hosted the Global Fraud Summit in Vienna on 16–17 March 2026 to tackle the rising global threat of fraud. During the summit, 44 countries pledged concrete actions, while UNODC introduced new resources to enhance collaboration between governments and the private sector in preventing and combating fraud…

U.S. Treasury launches the AI Innovation Series to leverage AI in finance, enhancing fraud detection, credit risk management, and cybersecurity, while setting standards for safe and responsible adoption

March 23, 2026

The series will host multiple roundtables with financial institutions, technology firms, regulators, and experts to identify high‑value AI use cases—such as fraud detection, cybersecurity, credit underwriting, and operational risk management—and to discuss governance, supervision, and risk‑management practices. The effort aims to support financial stability and economic security by promoting disciplined AI adoption that enhances resilience and oversight as the technology becomes embedded in core financial services…

 

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