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Money Laundering & Terrorist Financing

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…

 

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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…

CoLP’s Annual Fraud Report reveals a 395% surge in AI-linked fraud, rising from 193 to 956 cases in 2025/26, with losses reaching £9.6M as criminals deploy deepfakes, cloned voices and crypto in investment scams

September 4, 2026

The assessment highlights a sharp rise in AI-enabled fraud, with reports citing AI increasing from 193 to 956 and losses rising from £1.2m to £9.6m. Investment fraud was the leading AI-enabled fraud type, with criminals using AI-generated videos, cloned voices and fake websites to create convincing scams. Cryptocurrency also remains closely linked to investment fraud and the movement of illicit funds. Meanwhile, victim support improved, with more than 180,000 victims receiving outcomes between January and June 2026, average processing times falling from 37 days to five days, and over 10,600…

JMLSG updates Part I AML Guidance, clarifying CDD requirements for bank insolvencies, customers acting on behalf of others and pooled client a/cs, including “unusually” large or complex transactions

September 3, 2026

The revisions affect paragraphs 2.9, 5.2.4A, 5.3.94A, 5.3.99 and 5.3.142 and Annex 5-V, and have been submitted to HM Treasury for Ministerial approval. The amendments cover the interpretation of “unusually” complex or large transactions, an exception relating to bank insolvencies, pooled client accounts and provisions for customers acting on behalf of others…

CoLP secures a conviction after seizing the UK’s first SMS blaster, used to send smishing texts, with 7,859 compromised payment card details and counterfeit IDs uncovered in a case linked to ML

September 1, 2026

The device acted as a rogue mobile antenna, allowing scam messages to be sent directly to nearby phones while bypassing normal network security. The messages impersonated trusted organisations, including Royal Mail, to trick victims into providing payment and personal information. A search uncovered thousands of compromised card details and counterfeit driving licences used to support fraudulent bank accounts and launder criminal proceeds…

FCA finds 4 in 5 less-experienced investors use AI for investment decisions, while 44% wrongly believe AI-generated financial information is regulated, raising risks of scams and manipulation

August 27, 2026

FCA research among 18- to 40-year-old current or prospective investors found that 80% of less experienced investors have used AI for investment support, with 56% trusting AI tools and two-thirds expecting to increase their use over the next year. However, 44% incorrectly believe AI-generated financial information is regulated, 38% consider it acceptable to make investment decisions solely on AI outputs and 32% expect access to…

NCA secures forfeiture of more than £3.84M from an agricultural company after tracing funds through Chinese bank accounts to suspected front companies linked to US-sanctioned Iranian oil activity

August 27, 2026

The NCA traced the funds to ENEX bank accounts in China, which had received tens of millions of pounds from suspected front companies; some of these companies were later sanctioned by the US for allegedly facilitating illicit Iranian oil sales and payments to Iran’s Qods Force. The NCA suspects the forfeited funds represent proceeds of money laundering, while the company’s owner denied criminal activity and agreed to the forfeiture…

UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand (Five Eyes partners) back UK-led action to disrupt global fraud and online scam networks through faster intelligence-sharing and coordinated enforcement

August 27, 2026

The partners also endorsed stronger support for the INTERPOL Global Fraud Taskforce, which will map organised fraud networks, identify links between criminal groups and support international operations, while the UK has committed £250m through its Fraud Strategy to strengthen enforcement, tackle scams at source and support victims….

Companies House publishes new fit-and-proper criteria for ACSPs, strengthening expectations around AML supervision, integrity, corporate verification and compliance

August 24, 2026

The criteria will assess whether providers are suitable to perform company formation, filing and verification services. The assessment covers AML supervision, criminal and regulatory history, financial standing, honesty and integrity, and compliance with Companies House requirements. Companies House will also continue monitoring ACSPs after registration and can suspend…

UK Insolvency Service and FCA warn of Key Coin Assets Ltd, after 9 investors lost over £300,000 in an alleged Ponzi-style crypto scheme promising returns of up to 100% with “0 Fees, 0 Risks”

August 18, 2026

Key Coin Assets promised investors returns of between 40% and 100%, but an Insolvency Service investigation found no evidence that genuine crypto trading had taken place and nine complainants had paid more than £300,000 into the company. Investigators found that investor funds were rapidly transferred to the director’s personal account and that payments from newer investors appeared to have been used to repay earlier participants…

NCA-UKFIU SARs In Action Issue 37 highlights AI-enabled CDD evasion, growing threat of professional enablers and the global scale of asset tracing, with 36,000+ checks across 31 countries

August 17, 2026

It highlights the second JMLIT Amber Alert on AI-enabled CDD evasion, alongside Project A.S.S.E.T.’s 36,000+ asset-tracing checks involving 40+ law enforcement agencies across 31 countries. This operation identified suspected links to 884 bank accounts, 80 companies, 55 crypto wallets, 44 vehicles, 1 vessel and 44 properties, generating around £5M in UK assets and leads for overseas partners…

HMRC’s Trusts and Estates Newsletter Aug 26 highlights expanded Trust Registration Service requirements for non-UK trusts holding UK property, with new low-value exemptions and enhanced data sharing

August 13, 2026

Following amendments to the Money Laundering Regulations, non-UK trusts that acquired qualifying UK land before 6 October 2020 and continued to hold it on 30 June 2026 are now required to register with the Trust Registration Service. All non-UK trusts acquiring qualifying UK land also fall within the trust data-sharing process, while new exemptions have been introduced for certain low-value trusts…

FCA calls for greater private-to-private intelligence sharing, urging financial firms to “connect the dots” and disrupt criminal networks before they can scale

August 12, 2026

Beth Harris, Head of Department at the FCA, highlights the need for firms to make greater use of ECCTA’s information-sharing provisions to close intelligence gaps and detect financial crime earlier. Sharing intelligence responsibly can help firms connect the dots, identify emerging patterns and disrupt fraud, money laundering and wider economic crime across institutions and sectors…

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