Our extensive knowledge at your fingertips
United Kingdom
This section covers AML/CTF initiatives by FCA, HMT, HMRC, JMLSG and other related UK organisations.
FCA Financial Crime: Guide for firms
HM Treasury Money Laundering Prevention
HMRC Money Laundering Regulations
JMLSG industry Guidance
FATCA UK Regulations 2013
FATCA UK Regulations Guidance 2013
Gambling Commission Money Laundering
National Crime Agency updates
And many more…
Sections
Latest editions
Search
Topics
- Topics
- Accountability
- AML/CTF
- AML/CTF compliance programme
- Anti-corruption
- Artificial intelligence
- Asset Recovery
- Beneficial Ownership
- Biodiversity
- Blockchain
- Bribery & Corruption
- Bribes
- CDD
- Complex structures
- Confiscation & Freezing
- conflict minerals
- Conflict of Interest
- Correspondent Banking
- Corruption
- Counterfeiting
- Crime
- Cross-border finance
- Cryptoassets
- Cryptocurrencies
- Cybercrime
- Data Protection
- Deepfakes
- Democracy
- Digital assets
- Digitalisation
- Drug Trafficking
- EDD
- Enforcement
- Environmental crime
- ESG
- Ethics
- EU ML Directive
- FCPA
- Financial Crime
- Financial Inclusion & Literacy
- Financial Sanctions
- Fines & Enforcements
- FinTech
- FIU
- Fraud
- Gambling
- Greenwashing
- Human Rights
- Human Trafficking
- Illicit Finance
- Illicit Trafficking
- Information Sharing
- Integrity
- Intellectual property
- Investigations
- kleptocracy
- KYC
- Land justice
- Machine Learning
- market manipulation
- Modern Slavery
- Money Laundering (ML)
- NPOs
- Offshore
- OHCHR
- Onboarding
- Organised crime
- Other
- Payments
- PEPs
- Proliferation
- Proliferation of WMD
- Public Officials
- Ransomware
- RegTech
- Risk
- robotics
- Sanctions
- Senior Managers & Certification Regime (SMCR)
- Shell Companies
- Source of wealth & funds
- Stablecoins
- Supervision
- Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
- Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs)
- Tax
- Tax Evasion
- Technology
- Terrorist Financing
- Trade Finance
- Trafficking
- Transaction Monitoring
- Transfers
- Transnational crime
- Transparency
- Travel
- Unexplained Wealth Order
- Virtual Assets
- Virtual currencies
- Whistleblowing
- Wildlife crime
Industry
Organisation
- Organisation
- ABA
- AFME
- Afripol
- AMLA
- AMLP
- APPG
- ASC
- Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering
- ASIC
- Atlantic Council
- AUSTRAC
- Austria FMA
- B20
- BAFIN
- BAFM
- Bank of England
- Basel
- BGC
- BIS
- BMA
- BoIJ
- CBUAE
- CCAF
- CFATF
- Charity Commission
- Chatham House
- City of London Police
- CMA
- Companies House
- Corruption Watch
- Council of Europe
- Council of the EU
- CPA
- CPS
- CSSF
- DEA
- Department of Business
- DFSA
- DIT
- DRCF
- EBA
- EBF
- ECB
- EFCC
- EGBA
- Egmont Group
- EPPO
- ESA
- ESAAMLG
- ESMA
- EUDA
- Eurojust
- European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)
- European Commission
- European Council
- European Parliament
- European Union (EU)
- Europol
- FATF
- FBI
- FCA
- FCDO
- FCO
- FDIC
- Federal Reserve
- Fenergo
- FFIS
- FIAU
- FinCEN
- FINMA
- FINRA
- FINTRAC
- FIU
- FIU-IND
- FSA / FCA
- FSB
- FSC
- FSMA
- G20
- G7
- GABAC
- GAFILAT
- Gambling Commission
- GASA
- GCFCC
- GFI
- GI-TOC
- GIABA
- Global Initiative
- Global Integrity
- Global Witness
- GRECO
- GRETA
- HKMA
- HKSFC
- HM Treasury
- HMCPSI
- HMRC
- Home Office
- House of Commons
- House of Lords
- ICAEW
- ICC
- ICE
- ICIJ
- ICO
- IDB
- IMF
- IMLIT
- Insurance Europe
- Interpol
- IOM FSA
- IPO
- ISO
- J5
- JFSC
- JMLSG
- KoFIU
- KSA
- Law Commission
- Law Society
- MAS
- MENAFATF
- Met Police
- MONEYVAL
- NAO
- NASC
- Nasdaq Verafin
- Nature Needs More
- NCA
- NECC
- NED
- Netherlands FIOD
- Nice Actimize
- NYDFS
- OAG
- OCC
- OCCRP
- OECD
- OFAC
- OFSI
- OLAF
- OPBAS
- OSCE
- Other
- OTSI
- PNF
- PRA
- project CRAAFT
- PSR
- PwC
- RBI
- RUSI
- Sayari
- SEBI
- SEC
- SEPA
- SFO
- Singapore Police Force
- Spotlight on corruption
- SRA
- Sweden FI
- Swiss Federal Council
- Swiss OAG
- Tax Justice Network
- TFG
- TRACE
- TRACFIN
- Traffic
- Transparency International
- TRNC
- TRP
- UK Border Force
- UK Finance
- UK Govt
- UK Police Foundation
- UKACC
- UKPI
- UN
- UNODC
- US BIS
- US DEA
- Us DoC
- US DoJ
- US DoS
- US Govt
- US Sec
- US Senate
- US Treasury
- USAID
- VISA
- Wall Street Journal
- WCO
- White House
- Wolfsberg
- World Bank
Jurisdiction
- Jurisdiction
- Afghanistan
- Andorra
- Asia
- Australia
- Austria
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Berlin
- Bermuda
- Botswana
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Cayman Islands
- China
- Colombia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- EU
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Ghana
- Gibraltar
- Global
- Greece
- Guernsey
- Hong Kong
- India
- Iran
- Ireland
- Isle of Man
- Israel
- Japan
- Jersey
- Kenya
- Lithuania
- Malaysia
- Malta
- Mauritiania
- Mexico
- Middle East
- Monaco
- Myanmar
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Nigeria
- North Korea
- Norway
- Other
- Poland
- Romania
- Russia
- San Marino
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- South Africa
- Spain
- Sudan
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- UAE
- UK
- Ukraine
- Uruguay
- US
- Uzbekistan
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
NCA’s Operation Venetic uncovers an organised crime group member’s role in a North East England cocaine plot, underscoring a decisive crackdown on serious drug trafficking
The defendant, linked to an organised crime group using the encrypted EncroChat platform, admitted conspiring to supply multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine after NCA analysis of encrypted messages revealed his role in coordinating drug movements and payments. The case forms part of the wider Operation Venetic crackdown, which has dismantled numerous UK criminal networks by exploiting intelligence obtained from EncroChat to uncover large-scale drug supply, violence, and money-laundering operations…
FCA launches new Firm Checker tool to help consumers and businesses to verify whether a financial services firm or individual is authorised and regulated and protect against fraud, scams, and other FC
The tool allows consumers to quickly confirm a firm’s regulatory status, see any restrictions or warnings, and identify clone-firm risks, strengthening early detection of scams and unauthorised activity. It forms part of the FCA’s wider strategy to reduce harm from financial crime by improving transparency, empowering consumers, and disrupting criminals’ ability to operate in the UK market…
FCA highlights stablecoin payments as a 2026 priority, calling for strong consumer protections and robust regulation to ensure their safe and responsible integration into the UK financial system
The FCA has set stablecoin payments as a priority for 2026, supporting UK-issued stablecoins to enable faster, more convenient payments and allowing firms to experiment safely through its regulatory sandbox. Its one-year growth update highlights that most of its nearly 50 growth commitments have been delivered, including reforms to scale firms, boost home ownership, enhance capital markets, accelerate digital innovation (e.g., AI sandbox), reduce regulatory burdens, support start-ups and high-growth firms, and strengthen international trade and investment…
NCA UK FIU’s SARs in Action Dec 25 reveals a 300% surge in CSAM-related SARs, the new SARs Digital Service, crackdowns on live-streamed abuse and sextortion and over £1.9M recovered via DAML SARs
The issue details several case studies, including SARs that uncovered mule-account networks linked to large-scale fraud, enabled rapid restraint of assets in a cross-border money-laundering case, and provided vital intelligence on organised drug-trafficking groups using cash-intensive businesses and crypto exchanges to disguise proceeds. It also shares practical guidance on improving SAR submissions — such as clearer narratives, better risk indicators and more precise transaction information…
Companies House publishes the ‘Register of People with Significant Control’ guidance, detailing how UK companies must identify and record individuals or entities with substantial ownership or control
Under the PSC regime, firms must identify individuals or legal entities that meet defined “significant control” criteria — for example holding over 25% of shares or voting rights, having the power to appoint/remove a majority of directors, or otherwise exercising significant influence — and submit this data to Companies House. The system now centralises all PSC registers at Companies House …
RUSI’s latest podcast warns that terrorist groups are exploiting online gaming and virtual economies to move funds anonymously, highlighting the need for stronger oversight and collaboration
The episode warns that these platforms largely operate outside regulated financial systems, making detection difficult, and stresses the need for stronger cooperation between gaming companies, regulators, and financial‑crime authorities to address this emerging risk…
FCA releases Handbook Notice 135, updating market rules and UK–Switzerland cross-border requirements while strengthening firms’ financial crime and due diligence obligations
The notice also introduces new guidance for firms providing investment and insurance services into Switzerland and updates technical standards across market-integrity and consumer-protection rules. These changes carry compliance and financial-crime implications, particularly around trade-reporting obligations, cross-border due-diligence expectations, and strengthened governance requirements…
UK Parliament launches inquiry into the Govt’s Financial Inclusion Strategy, urging action beyond ‘box‑ticking’ to ensure vulnerable groups gain real access to financial services while curbing FC risks
The Committee will examine whether existing measures, such as banking hubs, effectively reach those excluded from mainstream finance and will call for a strategic, outcome-driven approach supported by the private sector. From a financial‑crime perspective, meaningful inclusion is crucial: without access to regulated banking, excluded individuals may rely on informal or opaque channels, heightening risks…
FCA outlines a sharper approach to regulating cryptoassets and stablecoins, emphasising that innovation must be backed by strong consumer protection, FC controls, and robust governance
The FCA states that it intends to bring cryptoasset businesses — including stablecoin issuers — within a “proportionate, sustainable” regulatory regime that applies core standards (governance, disclosure, consumer safeguards) similar to those for traditional financial firms. It also launches a stablecoin-specific cohort within its Regulatory Sandbox to allow firms to test innovations under supervision, signalling that firms should begin preparing now for authorisation under the upcoming UK crypto regime…
FCA collaborates with crypto firms in its Regulatory Sandbox to test standardised disclosures, enhancing transparency, protecting investors, and shaping the UK’s crypto rules for 2026
Eunice a RegTech platform has been accepted into the FCA’s Regulatory Sandbox to pilot an “industry‑led disclosure solution” for crypto markets. Eunice will work with major crypto firms (including Coinbase, Kraken and Crypto.com) to test standardised disclosure templates covering tokenised assets, cryptoassets and on‑chain infrastructure — helping ensure investors receive clear, consistent information…
FCA’s Consultation Paper proposes reforms to simplify UK transaction reporting, cut compliance costs by over £100M, and enhance data quality for detecting FC and market abuse – feedback by 20 Feb 26
Under consultation paper CP25/32, the FCA seeks to streamline the UK transaction-reporting regime by narrowing its scope to instruments traded on UK venues, removing mandatory reporting for FX derivatives, and cutting required data fields (reducing transaction-reporting fields from 65 to 52). It also proposes shortening the window for resubmitting corrected reports from five to three years (with a longer period possible for serious failures), and aligns future reforms with a broader plan to integrate reporting across multiple regimes including MiFIR…
NCA exposes a billion-dollar Russian ML network that allegedly bought a Lithuanian bank to funnel war-funding, revealing a sophisticated web of shell firms, corrupt intermediaries and global illicit finance
Through Operation Destabilise, the NCA uncovers a sprawling criminal network operating across at least 28 UK cities that funnels cash from drugs, firearms, and people-smuggling into cryptocurrency, and which uses a bank acquisition in Kyrgyzstan to channel funds to entities supporting Russia’s military-industrial complex. To date, authorities have arrested 128 suspects and seized more than £25 million in cash ….