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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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Europol holds its largest-ever operation to seize global criminal assets, uniting over 80 experts to trace, freeze, and seize organized crime profits, including €200,000 in cryptocurrencies

January 17, 2025

Over 80 financial experts and representatives from 43 law enforcement agencies across 28 countries joined Europol for Project A.S.S.E.T. (Asset Search & Seize Enforcement Taskforce). This groundbreaking initiative, conducted from 13 to 17 January, aims to enhance global efforts to identify, freeze, and seize criminal assets. The event also included key contributions from international organizations such as Eurojust and Interpol, demonstrating a coordinated global effort…

SEC announces 200 enforcement actions in Q1 of FY 2025, the highest number filed in any first quarter since at least 2000

January 17, 2025

Reports 200 enforcement actions in the first quarter of fiscal year 2025 (October-December 2024), including 118 standalone actions, marking the highest number of filings for this period since 2000. Of these, 75 were filed in October 2024 alone. The cases addressed violations such as financial misstatements, misleading disclosures, conflicts of interest, bribery schemes, fraud targeting retail investors, and misleading claims about artificial intelligence.

 

 

US DOJ sentences international virtual currency vendor for ML conspiracy involving over $20m in criminal proceeds

January 17, 2025

Anurag Murarka has been sentenced for laundering over US$20 million in criminal proceeds between April 2021 and September 2023. Operating from India, he used dark web marketplaces and cryptocurrency working through a hawala network to deliver illicit cash to the US Murarka knowingly aided hackers and drug traffickers in hiding their illegal funds. His arrest came after a joint FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service operation…

CPS: Three convicted money launderers have been ordered to repay £23.6 m after illegally obtaining Australian dollars and laundering them through cryptocurrency

January 17, 2025

Masterminded by James Parker the scam exploited a loophole in a crypto exchange allowing his associates to withdraw millions before his death in 2021. Authorities have recovered significant assets with the CPS emphasizing its commitment to targeting proceeds of cyber-enabled crime…

PSR Strategy Update outlines measures to enhance payment security with a strong emphasis on fraud prevention, innovation and consumer protection

January 17, 2025

Key initiatives include reinforcing APP fraud reimbursement, improving Faster Payments oversight, and expanding open banking capabilities to drive innovation while mitigating financial crime risks.

EPPO Lithuania uncovers an organised crime group allegedly misappropriating nearly €6m from EU structural funds, connected to high-value fraud, ML, and illegal activities by legal entities

January 16, 2025

The investigation concerns fraudulent schemes allegedly carried out between 2018 and 2024, during which the organised group systematically misled the administering authority to obtain EU funds unlawfully. Evidence indicates that the suspects simulated commercial relations and fictitious financial transactions between companies under their control, fraudulently inflating costs and creating the impression of contributing their own funds to EU-funded projects…

 

Home Office’s 2024 drug seizure statistics reveal a 13% rise, with police forces and Border Force carrying out 217,644 seizures in the UK, compared to 192,145 the previous year

January 16, 2025

The data relate to all drugs controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and Psychoactive Substances Act 2016. The number and quantity of seizures made can be affected by police and Border Force activity and changes in recording practices, as well as changes in the drugs market. Therefore, the number and quantity of drug seizures each year should not be taken as an indicator of drug prevalence in England and Wales…

 

 

FCA in its letter to the PM outlines a new approach to align regulations with growth, making it a cornerstone of its 2030 strategy and detailing plans to remove ‘unnecessary regulation’

January 16, 2025

Key highlights inlcude embracing economic reform risks – the FCA moves from tick-box compliance to a principles-based approach, regulatory easing: Proposals include relaxing some AML requirements to ease business burdens, corporate responsibility: Greater autonomy for boards to drive ethical practices and safeguard consumers….

 

 

 

EBA and ESMA Report warns of significant ML/TF risks in DeFi and Crypto Lending

January 16, 2025

The report highlights significant ML/TF risks in decentralised finance (DeFi), citing vulnerabilities such as weak customer due diligence and anonymity features that obscure transaction origins across decentralised exchanges, lending, and staking activities…

FATF upgrades its assessment of Tajikistan regarding the supervision of the NPO sector and its asset seizure regime

January 15, 2025

Tajikistan is re-rated on Recommendation 8, covering regulation of the NPO sector, to ‘Largely Compliant’. The country is also re-rated to Largely Compliant on Recommendation 38, as a result of steps taken to eliminate the deficiency in dividing confiscated property with other countries.

APGML acknowledges the steps Myanmar has taken to enhance its AML/CFT regulatory and supervisory framework

January 15, 2025

Myanmar has been re-rated on Recommendation 26 from Partially Compliant to Largely Compliant. Action recognises that comprehensive measures were introduced in 2024 to ensure individuals in significant roles in the microfinance, insurance, and securities sectors meet “fit and proper” criteria. Also noted as part of the decision was the issue of handbooks to help supervisors apply a risk-based approach, as well as provision of new guidelines for securities firms align supervision frequency and intensity with assessed ML/TF risks.

MONEYVAL reports progress by Slovakia in addressing deficiencies related to NPOs, virtual assets, and high-risk countries, but the improvements were not enough for a ratings upgrade

January 14, 2025

The country remains under MONEYVAL’s enhanced follow-up procedure and must report on overall progress within a year. Additionally, it is required to provide updates on customer due diligence measures (Recommendation 10) at the June 2025 plenary meeting. Further action is needed to fully address deficiencies and strengthen enforcement.

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