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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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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…

AUSTRAC updates its regulatory expectations ahead of the March 2026 AML/CTF reforms, warning businesses to maintain strong systems to manage ML/TF/PF risks or face strict penalties

December 18, 2025

Entities must maintain programs focused on risk identification and mitigation, including suspicious matter reporting and due diligence. If businesses cannot fully meet new obligations by March 2026, they must prepare documented implementation plans outlining how they will manage ML/TF risks during the transition, including timelines, risk gaps and mitigation measures. Implementation plans should be endorsed by senior management and boards, ensuring corporate governance accountability for financial crime controls…

Europol, in its latest Podcast ‘The Future of Europol’, unveils plans to expand capabilities, harness technology, and boost global cooperation to stay ahead of evolving serious and organised crime

December 18, 2025

In this Season 3 finale, Europol’s executive leadership outlines the strategic direction of the agency, emphasising the need to adapt its structures, analytical tools and partnerships to keep pace with the changing “DNA” of serious and organised crime. They highlight plans to double capabilities, enhance international reach and leverage innovation as crime becomes increasingly technology-enabled, ensuring Europol remains effective in supporting member states against future threats…

EBA, ECB and national supervisors sign an MoU to strengthen cooperation and information sharing in support of non-bank payment service providers’ access to central bank payment systems 

December 18, 2025

The new MoU establishes the EU’s first unified framework for real-time information sharing on non-bank PSPs, allowing supervisors and central banks to jointly monitor safeguarding breaches, governance issues and operational disruptions – the agreement aims to curb regulatory arbitrage and cross-border fraud, closing long-standing oversight gaps…

Canada Border Services Agency announces that a major auto theft investigation has led to organised-crime and money-laundering charges against individuals and companies allegedly exporting stolen vehicles

December 17, 2025

In December 2025, the CBSA and partner agencies unveiled results from a long-running investigation into transnational auto theft rings, alleging that suspects facilitated export of stolen vehicles and laundered proceeds through complex schemes. The operation includes criminal and money-laundering charges against multiple individuals and entities, highlighting cross-border enforcement cooperation to disrupt organized crime and financial crime linked to the auto theft supply chain.

OECD’s Harmful Tax Practices – 2024 Peer Review Reports on the Exchange of Information on Tax Rulings shows that most jurisdictions are effectively implementing the BEPS Action 5 transparency standard by exchanging tax-ruling information, though some still need to improve legal frameworks and timeliness

December 17, 2025

The report, approved by the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on 2 December 2025, assesses how participating jurisdictions comply with the minimum standard under BEPS Action 5 for spontaneous exchange of information on tax rulings, a key tool in tackling base erosion and profit shifting. It finds broad legal and operational capacity for exchanging such information, with peer reviews highlighting progress and identifying a small number of recommendations to strengthen legal bases, data completeness and timely transmission of information…

Europol coordinates high-impact operations against transatlantic cocaine supply networks, seizing 1.6 tonnes of cocaine, €1.5M+ in assets, and dismantling supply chains from South America to Europe

December 17, 2025

Actions included the arrest of a Dutch-led network linked to Colombian traffickers, the disruption of a Brazilian maritime operation using modified fishing vessels via West Africa, and the interception of a Greek at-sea transfer network, resulting in dozens of arrests, seizure of 1.6 tonnes of cocaine, and over €1.5 million in assets. By providing intelligence, analytical support, and operational coordination, Europol helped disrupt the full criminal chain from organisers and logistics managers to European receivers, demonstrating the power of sustained international cooperation against organised cocaine trafficking…

FCA launches a consultation on its proposed regulatory framework for cryptoassets, aiming to ensure consumer protection and market integrity while supporting innovation – feedback by 12 Feb 2026

December 16, 2025

The proposals aim to create an open, sustainable, and competitive crypto market that protects consumers while supporting innovation. Key areas under consultation include listing and disclosure standards for cryptoassets, market‑abuse safeguards, operational standards for crypto trading platforms, requirements for intermediaries, rules for staking and DeFi activities, lending and borrowing frameworks, and prudential safeguards for firms. The FCA says the approach will apply similar regulatory principles to crypto as to traditional finance…

FATF’s Mutual Evaluation of Belgium Report finds that despite a strong legal AML/CFT framework, gaps in virtual asset oversight, BO checks, sanctions, and enforcement have led to enhanced follow-up

December 16, 2025

FATF’s Mutual Evaluation assesses Belgium’s measures against money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing as largely aligned with international standards but notes persistent weaknesses in effectively addressing key risks such as virtual assets, organised crime-linked laundering, and resource constraints that limit investigations and prosecutions. It highlights uneven supervision, limited use of sanctions, insufficient technological tools for the FIU, and gaps in beneficial ownership accuracy, and provides a roadmap of key actions Belgium must complete within three years to strengthen its AML/CFT/CPF effectiveness…

Egmont shares key updates at the 70th MONEYVAL Plenary in Strasbourg, highlighting stronger FIU independence, expanded training, and closer international cooperation to combat ML/TF

December 16, 2025

At the 70th MONEYVAL Plenary in Strasbourg, the Egmont Group was represented by its leadership (including Vice Chair Daniel Thelesklaf and Chair Elżbieta Franków-Jaśkiewicz), where it shared updates on strengthening the independence and autonomy of Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs), expanded training initiatives for 2026, and highlighted collaborative projects analyzing mutual evaluation findings to identify regional training needs—especially around cooperation with law enforcement and the use of financial intelligence…

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