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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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UK and EU sign a MoU to strengthen oversight of critical third-party providers, establishing coordinated cooperation, information sharing, and joint supervision against cyber-attacks and system outages

January 14, 2026

It aligns the UK’s Critical Third Party regime with the EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), promoting cross-border consistency while reducing regulatory duplication. The agreement aims to enhance financial stability, operational resilience, and market confidence, enabling faster, coordinated responses to risks affecting critical service providers and ensuring more effective supervision across both jurisdictions…

FCA’s new cryptoasset regime, effective 25 Oct 2027, will regulate key crypto activities – firms can learn more at the Authorisations Introductory Webinar on 29 Jan 2026 to stay compliant

January 13, 2026

This webinar will introduce the upcoming changes to the regulatory regime for cryptoassets under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA). We’ll cover who will be affected by these changes and outline our expectations when assessing applications. The session will highlight the support available to applicants and provide information about our upcoming events and webinars designed to support industry. The webinar will end with an opportunity for Q&A…

Resistant AI’s APP Fraud Whitepaper reveals how criminals exploit real-time payments and money mule networks, urging banks and fintechs to adopt stronger controls, real-time monitoring, and collaboration

January 13, 2026

It emphasizes the growing scale of APP fraud globally, the financial and reputational risks for banks and fintechs, and the urgent need for stronger controls, enhanced onboarding, real-time monitoring, and data-driven defenses. The paper also addresses emerging reimbursement regimes for victims and calls for industry-wide collaboration and investment in fraud prevention to safeguard customers…

FATF publishes a guide outlining its 11 Immediate Outcomes (IOs), which evaluate how effectively countries combat ML/TF & PF while safeguarding against illicit finance

January 13, 2026

These outcomes cover a risk-based approach to targeting high-risk activities, international cooperation through information sharing and joint investigations, and supervision of both financial and non-financial sectors to ensure preventive measures are applied. They also include transparency of beneficial ownership, effective use of financial intelligence by FIUs, robust criminal justice measures, and the tracing, freezing, and confiscation of criminal assets. Additionally, the IOs assess the identification and prosecution of terrorist financing…

G7 Cyber Expert Group issues a statement outlining a coordinated roadmap for adopting post-quantum cryptography to protect the financial sector from future quantum computing risks

January 13, 2026

G7 CEG statement and roadmap highlights that future quantum computers could break the cryptographic protections that currently secure financial systems, including encryption used for transaction confidentiality, authentication, digital signatures, and data integrity — all foundational to preventing fraud, theft, and unauthorized access…

AMLA takes major step toward harmonised EU AML/CFT supervision introducing common risk assessment and selection framework to ensure consistent and robust oversight

January 9, 2026

Central to this are two draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS): one on risk assessments, which defines the data points and criteria national supervisors will use to evaluate ML/TF risks, and one on selection, which applies the same methodology for AMLA to identify entities for direct supervision. By introducing a common, harmonised approach, AMLA and national authorities will share a consistent understanding of risks, enhancing robustness and convergence in EU-wide supervision…

GFI’s report ‘Unmasking The Shadows’ exposes Uganda’s opaque real estate market as a ML hub, where hidden ownership and weak oversight allow illicit funds to flow, urging transparency reforms

January 9, 2026

The report explains that although Uganda has legal frameworks for land transactions and anti-money-laundering, gaps such as the absence of a public beneficial-ownership register and weak oversight in real estate create opportunities for illicit financial flows to be concealed through property transactions. It recommends enhancing transparency and access to information in land markets, strengthening compliance in the financial system, improving interagency cooperation on information sharing and mutual legal assistance…

FinCEN unveils new measures to combat large-scale Govt benefits and payment fraud in Minnesota, targeting shell companies, false claims, and complex laundering networks exploiting public funds

January 9, 2026

Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent unveiled initiatives aimed at combating what officials describe as rampant government benefits fraud in Minnesota that has allegedly diverted billions in taxpayer funds, with measures designed to strengthen financial system integrity and protect taxpayers. These include targeted reporting requirements on transactions leaving the U.S., FinCEN investigations of money services businesses, fraud-related alerts to financial institutions, and training for law-enforcement partners to better use financial data in investigations…

U.S DOJ convicts a Texas Couple for running a multi‑million‑dollar pyramid scheme that defrauded over 10,000 victims of $25M, exposing a bold, pandemic-era investment scam

January 9, 2026

The Moores were found guilty on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, five counts of wire fraud, and three counts of money laundering.  Prosecutors showed they targeted people with livestream pitches promising up to 800 % returns on $1,400 payments, a classic chain‑referral structure requiring recruiting to pay earlier participants…

Swedish Police Authority releases a 2025 guide for Money transfer service providers, explaining how their services can be exploited for ML/TF, and spotlighting risks, red flags, and legal obligations

January 9, 2026

The guide explains how transfer services can be misused by criminal networks, outlines specific transaction red flags (such as unusual cash amounts, rapid structuring of funds, and transfers involving high‑risk jurisdictions), identifies suspicious customer behaviours and profiles, and highlights evolving risks including the blending of cryptocurrency with cash transfers. It also details compliance obligations under EU and Swedish AML laws — including customer due diligence, record‑keeping and timely submission of suspicious activity reports …

Europol backs a major Spanish crackdown on the transnational Black Axe network, leading to 34 arrests, asset seizures, and the disruption of multi‑million‑euro fraud, drug trafficking, and human exploitation

January 9, 2026

The Black Axe network, originally from Nigeria and now active in dozens of countries with an estimated ~30,000 members globally, is known for a wide range of criminal activities, including cyber‑enabled fraud, drug trafficking, human trafficking and prostitution, kidnapping, armed robbery, and “fraudulent spiritual practices.” Authorities estimate fraud linked to this operation alone caused over €5.9 million in damages. During the raids, investigators froze about €119,000 in bank accounts and seized around €66,000 in cash…

ESAs’ Final Report on ESG Stress Testing establishes a harmonised EU framework for supervisors to embed climate and ESG risks into banks’ and insurers’ stress tests with consistent methods and scenarios

January 8, 2026

It guides supervisors on selecting ESG risks, designing scenarios, allocating resources, and assessing resilience over both short‑ and long-term horizons, initially focusing on climate and environmental risks without imposing new legal obligations. These guidelines operate under a “comply or explain” framework, supporting harmonised supervisory practices under the Capital Requirements Directive and Solvency II, with full application expected by 1 January 2027…

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