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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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South Africa’s Prudential Authority sanctions Capitec Bank with R28m penalty over AML/CFT control failures, including CDD, screening and sanctions weaknesses

September 11, 2026

The sanctions include five cautions and a R28 million financial penalty, of which R5.5 million is conditionally suspended for 36 months. The deficiencies included inadequate customer due diligence (CDD), enhanced due diligence (EDD) and ongoing due diligence, insufficient ongoing AML training, and weaknesses in name/payment screening, terrorist property reporting and financial sanctions controls…

Europol crackdown on a Camorra-linked Italian organised crime network leads to 6 arrests across Germany, Italy and Spain over the large-scale production and distribution of counterfeit euros

September 11, 2026

Investigators allege the group produced high-quality counterfeit banknotes in Italy and supplied them wholesale to criminal organisations in Germany and Spain, with several hundred thousand counterfeit notes believed to have entered circulation; raids also uncovered counterfeit euros, firearms, drugs and digital devices. Europol supported the operation with intelligence-sharing and financial analysis, highlighting how sophisticated…

Home Office’s Asset Recovery Statistics 2021–26 reports a 20% rise in criminal assets recovered to £345.3M and a 30% rise in assets denied through restraint and forfeiture powers to £1.1B

September 10, 2026

Forfeiture receipts increased by 28% from £122.3 million in the previous year, driven particularly by bank account forfeitures, which rose to £100.4 million. Civil recovery receipts also increased substantially, from £7.5 million to £38.5 million, while confiscation order receipts fell by 5% to £150.9 million. The statistics demonstrate the increasing contribution of civil recovery and forfeiture powers to the UK’s efforts to deprive criminals of illicit assets…

EC adopts Delegated Regulation extending central contact point requirements to cross-border Crypto-Asset Service Providers (CASPs) and strengthening AML/CFT oversight

September 10, 2026

A contact point may be required where a CASP’s activities exceed €3 million annually, where AML/CFT risks warrant it, or where authorities identify heightened ML/TF risks. The measure gives local contact points responsibilities for AML/CFT compliance, oversight, corrective action and liaison with host-country authorities and FIUs…

US DOJ seizes more than $52M in crypto linked to Chinese-run scam marketplace Xinbi Guarantee as global action targets the infrastructure behind scam centres

September 9, 2026

The Scam Center Strike Force coordinated the action with Treasury as part of a broader campaign against cryptocurrency-enabled fraud originating from Southeast Asian scam compounds. DOJ reports that the latest seizures bring the value of cryptocurrency restrained through the Strike Force’s operations to approximately $938 million. The action illustrates increasing coordination between criminal enforcement, asset forfeiture and OFAC sanctions against…

FinCEN’s Financial Trend Analysis reveals $17.5B in suspected health care fraud across 5,702 BSA reports, with home health care the most frequently identified provider type

September 9, 2026

The Analysis draws on Bank Secrecy Act reporting to identify patterns and trends associated with suspected fraud against public and private health care programmes. The publication provides financial institutions with intelligence derived from suspicious activity reporting and demonstrates FinCEN’s increasing use of aggregated BSA data to identify significant financial-crime typologies…

FATF sounds the alarm on emerging gaming and gambling risks with new red flag indicators, as criminals exploit platforms to move illicit funds without actually gambling

September 9, 2026

Criminals are increasingly exploiting online and illegal platforms to move illicit funds through multiple accounts, payment methods and virtual assets. Key red flags include large deposits or withdrawals with little or no gambling, unusual betting patterns, linked accounts, third-party payments, unexplained funds, complex ownership and offshore activity. FATF urges stronger CDD, monitoring and investigations to detect these risks…

New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs identifies the services accountants provide that create heightened exposure to money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing

September 9, 2026

The 2026 Accounting Sector Risk Assessment updates the sector’s risk profile using New Zealand’s National Risk Assessment, supervisory experience, intelligence and industry information. It examines how criminals can exploit professional services to conceal beneficial ownership and the source or movement of illicit funds, and is intended to help accounting practices reassess their individual risks and strengthen proportionate AML/CFT controls

APGML strengthens cooperation with Cambodia to tackle the illicit finance, online scams and cyber-enabled fraud associated with transnational scam networks

September 9, 2026

The APG Secretariat hosted representatives from Cambodia’s Commission for Combating Online Scams and partner agencies in Sydney to discuss emerging cyber-fraud risks and opportunities for stronger international cooperation. The engagement follows the APG’s recent work on cyber scam hubs and human trafficking, which identifies the evolution of scam centres into sophisticated transnational criminal enterprises exploiting virtual assets, complex corporate structures and weaknesses in special economic zones. The discussions emphasised information sharing and coordinated regional action to disrupt the criminal networks and financial infrastructure supporting these activities.

NCA’s NECC Annual Report 2025–26 highlights 4.15 million fraud incidents, with intensified action delivering £67M+ in assets seized or disrupted and a 198% rise in assets denied to criminals

September 8, 2026

Operation Henhouse 5 resulted in 557 arrests, bringing the five-year total to 1,904 arrests and more than £67 million seized or disrupted, while Operation Machinize 2 led to more than 900 arrests and the seizure of over £10 million in suspected criminal proceeds. The report also outlines plans to expand Data Fusion into a financial intelligence service and develop the new Online Crime Centre, enabling greater data sharing across financial, technology…

FATF warns that underground banking and hawala are becoming major ML channels, with 80%+ of jurisdictions flagging them as key risks and cases involving over €500M in laundered funds

September 8, 2026

FATF’s latest report raises the alarm over the growing sophistication of underground banking and hawala networks. Nearly 70% of jurisdictions are seeing “digital hawala”, as criminals combine informal money-transfer systems with encrypted messaging, fintech, virtual assets and instant payments. FATF warns that these networks are expanding beyond traditional cash-based crimes and are increasingly being used to move proceeds from fraud…

Europol dismantles a major underground banking network serving organised crime and drug-trafficking groups, arresting 21 suspects and identifying around €20M in assets

September 8, 2026

The operation resulted in 21 arrests and the identification of around €20 million in assets, including cash and luxury goods, while investigators uncovered an informal financial system operating across multiple countries to transfer criminal proceeds outside the regulated banking sector. The case highlights the growing role of professional underground bankers in providing organised crime with cross-border money-transfer and laundering services…

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