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Money Laundering & Terrorist Financing

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A page dedicated to global, regional, UK and US anti-money laundering developments and initiatives.

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FATF finds evidence that Cabo Verde has made modest progress in resolving some technical compliance deficiencies in its latest follow-up report

September 25, 2025

The FATF Follow-Up Report finds that Cabo Verde has upgraded Recommendation 2 (National cooperation and coordination) from Partially Compliant to Largely Compliant, reflecting better institutional coordination and strategic frameworks. However, it downgraded Recommendation 15 (New technologies / VASP-related risks) to Non-Compliant, and leaves unresolved deficiencies in a total of 15 Recommendations, keeping Cabo Verde under enhanced monitoring status.

Covid fraudster jailed for 18 months for misusing a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan to buy a house and dissolve his company to evade repayment, with recovery proceedings underway under POCA

September 25, 2025

Within two days of receiving the funds in June 2020, Rashidzadeh transferred the entire amount into his personal account and used it to purchase a £116,000 semi-detached house in Huddersfield. He then applied to have his company struck off the Companies House register without notifying the bank that had lent him the money…

US Treasury’s Financial Literacy and Education Commission meets to tackle rising payment fraud, requiring federal payments to transition to electronic methods under EO 14247 by 30 Sept 2025

September 25, 2025

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent highlighted that this shift not only protects against fraud but also promotes financial literacy. Officials urged individuals still receiving paper checks to switch to electronic payments via GoDirect.gov or a dedicated helpline and warned the public to remain vigilant against government impersonation scams during the transition…

UK Govt reports a record £480M saved in its largest-ever fraud crackdown, using data analytics and AI to detect and recover funds, including £186M from COVID-19 loan scams

September 24, 2025

Additional savings were realized through actions such as preventing unlawful claims for single-person council tax discounts and removing individuals from social housing waitlists who intended to illegally sublet their homes. These efforts have redirected funds back into essential public services, supporting the government’s Plan for Change, which aims to recruit more nurses, teachers, and police officer…

INTERPOL cracks down on cyber-enabled financial crimes across 40 countries, seizing $342M in govt-backed currencies and $97M in assets, including $16M in cryptocurrency

September 24, 2025

Authorities blocked over 68,000 bank accounts and froze nearly 400 crypto wallets linked to frauds such as voice phishing, romance scams, online sextortion, investment fraud, money laundering from illegal online gambling, business email compromise, and e-commerce fraud. A key success included the recovery of KRW 6.6 billion (USD 3.91 million) by the Korean National Police Agency in cooperation with Emirati…

OECD peer review finds BEPS Action 13 Country-by-Country Reporting broadly implemented in 142 jurisdictions, though many still need legal or operational improvements

September 23, 2025

The eighth annual peer review, covering 142 countries, reveals that over 120 jurisdictions have established domestic CbC-reporting obligations, with 22 advised to finalise legal frameworks and 27 urged to strengthen specific administrative areas OECD. While 101 jurisdictions have CbC exchange agreements in force and 89 provide assurance of appropriate use protocols, the report continues to recommend targeted improvements to ensure full alignment across the Inclusive Framework

FATF 2025 Follow-up report rates the Netherlands ‘Largely Compliant’ on Rec. 15 for virtual assets and new technologies, highlighting strong MiCAR-aligned reforms with minor gaps

September 23, 2025

The follow-up report highlights that the Netherlands has addressed major gaps by extending its VASP regime to all FATF-defined activities under MiCAR, introducing licensing, fit-and-proper checks, and enhanced supervisory and sanctioning powers for AFM and DNB. Remaining deficiencies—such as the absence of a VASP regime in the BES Islands and the delayed CDD threshold for occasional transactions…

FinCEN publishes new guidance clarifying that banks may share cross-border transaction and customer information to strengthen AML/CFT efforts while keeping SARs strictly confidential

September 23, 2025

The guidance emphasizes that financial institutions may voluntarily exchange underlying factual and transactional data with foreign counterparts, provided such sharing does not reveal the existence of a SAR. It underscores that this discretion must be exercised in light of each institution’s risk profile, legal obligations, and the need to protect sensitive information.

UK Border Force seizes over one tonne of cocaine worth £72M hidden in generators from South America, exposing criminal gangs sophisticated smuggling amid a record year for seizures

September 23, 2025

The case involves Border Force officers acting on strong intelligence to inspect two industrial generators, collectively weighing around 40 tonnes and valued at £720,000, that had hidden inside them over one tonne of cocaine from South America. Despite the risk of having to pay substantial compensation if the generators had been damaged without uncovering the drugs, the officers’ skill and caution led to a £72 million drug seizure and a subsequent charge…

Eurojust leads a Europe-wide operation dismantling a €100M cryptocurrency fraud targeting investors, arresting 5 suspects and exposing a massive cross-border scheme across 23 countries

September 23, 2025

The scheme spanned 23 countries, with victims lured into fake investment platforms promising high returns. The suspects reportedly laundered funds through complex channels, including Lithuania. Eurojust facilitated a joint investigation team between Spain and Lithuania, supported by Europol, highlighting the critical role of cross-border cooperation in tackling complex financial crimes…

UBS AG settles long-standing French tax evasion case, agreeing to pay €835M including a €730M fine – over unlawful cross-border client solicitations between 2004 and 2012

September 23, 2025

This settlement addresses allegations related to UBS’s involvement in assisting clients with tax evasion through the use of offshore accounts. The resolution marks a significant step in concluding this legacy issue, allowing UBS to move forward with its operations in France…

EU Supervisors warn financial institutions to stay vigilant as geopolitical tensions, trade disruptions, cyber threats, and rising crypto-asset risks threaten market stability

September 19, 2025

The Autumn 2025 Joint Committee Report highlights that escalating geopolitical tensions, trade disruptions, and currency volatility are reshaping the risk landscape and demanding increased vigilance from financial institutions. While the EU financial system demonstrates resilience—through strong bank profitability, insurer solvency, and pension fund funding—the supervisors urge firms to embed geopolitical and cyber risk assessments…

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