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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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US Treasury cracks down on transnational crime by sanctioning Burma’s KNA militia by disrupting its cyber scams, human trafficking, and smuggling operations

May 5, 2025

The KNA, a militia group operating in the country’s border region with Thailand, has long been linked to transnational criminal operations, facilitating the exploitation of vulnerable individuals and enabling scams that target global victims. Treasury’s sanctions target not only the KNA itself but also key figures, such as leader Saw Chit Thu and his sons, who are involved in orchestrating and profiting from these illegal activities…

FCA consults on new rules for cryptoasset trading platforms to boost transparency, protect consumers, and align with traditional finance, as part of its bold Crypto Roadmap – open until 13 June 2025

May 2, 2025

The discussion paper covers key areas like intermediaries, DeFi, staking, lending, and use of credit to buy crypto, ahead of incoming legislation. The FCA aims to create a regulatory regime that: provides clarity for firms and encourages innovation in the crypto space, ensures appropriate levels of market integrity and consumer protection, drives sustainable, long-term growth of crypto in the UK…

OLAF leads major EU-wide crackdown, seizing 1.8m luxury counterfeit items worth €180m and dismantling global smuggling networks

May 2, 2025

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

May 2, 2025

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

May 2, 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…

Nigeria EFCC busts multi-million Q-net scam, arresting 3 suspects and exposing a fake university offering fraudulent degrees, highlighting swift law enforcement action against financial fraud

May 2, 2025

The scam, which falsely promised lucrative financial returns to unsuspecting investors, was linked to a fake university operation that offered fraudulent degrees in various fields, including Medicine, Nursing, Cybersecurity, and Geology. The alleged scammers ran the fraudulent university in makeshift pavilions and under trees, charging students exorbitant registration fees between N1.2 million and N1.3 million, amounting to hundreds of millions…

BoE’s AI Consortium explores AI’s role in financial services, focusing on benefits, risks, and safe adoption, while addressing growing concerns around financial crime, ethics, and resilience

May 2, 2025

The phrase “Shape Future” underscores the consortium’s role in influencing the evolution of financial crime detection and risk management, making it clear that the platform aims to bring innovation to these critical areas. It also emphasizes the dual nature of the consortium’s work: exploring both the opportunities and challenges of AI in this context, which includes enhancing detection capabilities while addressing potential risks…

Cyprus’s Central Bank new AML/CTF Directive, effective 2 June 2025, reshapes compliance with a flexible RBA that enhances efficiency while ensuring robust financial crime oversight

May 2, 2025

The directive is part of Cyprus’ ongoing efforts to enhance its supervisory framework, ensuring that financial institutions comply with international standards on preventing money laundering and terrorist financing. The CBC has also made available a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document to clarify key provisions of the directive. The FAQ is designed to guide supervised entities, such as banks and financial institutions, in understanding…

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

May 2, 2025

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…

UK Home Office and Nigeria pledge to boost cross-border fraud enforcement while reinforcing new plan addressing early detection and intelligence sharing

May 1, 2025

This partnership aims to foster closer operational coordination and facilitate timely interventions to disrupt complex fraud networks that span national borders. By pooling resources and expertise, both governments seek to better protect their citizens from increasingly sophisticated fraud schemes, while building capacity within law enforcement and regulatory bodies. This collaboration represents a significant step toward a more unified…

FinCEN alerts FIs of the growing risk of cartel-linked oil smuggling across the US-Mexico border, with criminal organisations profiting from stolen crude oil, fueling corruption and violence in Mexico

May 1, 2025

The alert issued in collaboration with multiple U.S. law enforcement agencies including the DEA, FBI, and DHS, underscores the growing threat posed by Mexico-based transnational criminal organizations, particularly the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), Sinaloa Cartel, and the Gulf Cartel. These organizations are deeply involved in smuggling stolen crude oil from Mexico, often facilitated by complicit brokers within Mexico’s oil and gas industry…

FinCEN targets Cambodia’s Huione Group for laundering over $4bn in crypto funds tied to DPRK cyber heists and regional scams, proposing a ban on its access to the US financial system

May 1, 2025

The network which has facilitated the laundering of billions of dollars, is connected to North Korean cybercrime operations and Southeast Asian transnational criminal organizations, which use it to process illicit funds from cyber-enabled frauds, including “pig butchering” scams. FinCEN’s proposed action aims to sever Huione Group’s access to the U.S. financial system by prohibiting American financial institutions from maintaining…

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