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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
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FCA introduces changes from March 2026, to give banks and payment providers with robust fraud controls greater flexibility to set their own contactless payment limits, replacing the current fixed cap
This move responds to strong consumer demand, with contactless payments accounting for about 95 % of eligible in‑store card transactions in 2024, while maintaining existing fraud protections. Firms will be incentivised to strengthen fraud controls, and consumers may also have the option to set personal limits or disable contactless payments entirely, ensuring both convenience and security in line with evolving technology and inflation pressures…
FCA launches a consultation on its proposed regulatory framework for cryptoassets, aiming to ensure consumer protection and market integrity while supporting innovation – feedback by 12 Feb 2026
The proposals aim to create an open, sustainable, and competitive crypto market that protects consumers while supporting innovation. Key areas under consultation include listing and disclosure standards for cryptoassets, market‑abuse safeguards, operational standards for crypto trading platforms, requirements for intermediaries, rules for staking and DeFi activities, lending and borrowing frameworks, and prudential safeguards for firms. The FCA says the approach will apply similar regulatory principles to crypto as to traditional finance…
HMT releases 2024–25 UK AML/CTF Supervision Report, outlining significant reforms to the UK’s supervisory regime, confirming plans to shift AML oversight of legal, accountancy and TCSP sectors to the FCA
It introduces new transparency through detailed data on inspections, risk ratings. Only 1% of businesses are now deemed “low risk” for AML purposes. The “medium risk” category has grown proportionately, from 53% to 85%. The report details how supervisors including the FCA, HMRC, the Gambling Commission and professional-body supervisors strengthened risk-based supervision through targeted interventions, registration assessments…
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…