FinCEN’s proposed whistleblower rule is a meaningful regulatory development rather than a routine press announcement. Although the statutory framework has been in place since the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2020 and the 2022 improvement legislation, the new Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is the step that begins to turn those powers into a functioning award and protection regime with defined procedures, eligibility rules and adjudication mechanics. The proposal was published in t

An Italian arms dealer has pleaded guilty in the United States to conspiring to illegally export American-made ammunition that was ultimately reexported to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine. The case highlights the continuing enforcement focus on third-country diversion routes, front companies and falsified end-use arrangements used to move controlled goods into Russia despite export restrictions. The defendant, Manfred Gruber, admitted conspiring to commit export con

FinCEN has sharpened its focus on health care fraud with a new Advisory warning financial institutions about increasingly sophisticated schemes targeting Medicare, Medicaid and other government health care benefit programmes. Released on 30 March 2026, the Treasury measure frames health care fraud not simply as a billing abuse issue, but as a money laundering and national security concern involving organised crime groups and transnational criminal organisations. The Advisory

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Dinosaur Merchant Bank Limited (DMBL) £338,000 for significant failures in its market abuse surveillance systems within its contracts for difference (CFD) business. The enforcement action underscores regulatory expectations that firms operating in high risk trading environments must maintain robust and effective monitoring frameworks. The failings arose following the introduction of a new order management system in June 2024, wh

The European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA) have published their Spring 2026 Joint Committee risk update, highlighting mounting geopolitical pressures and emerging vulnerabilities in private finance markets, while reaffirming the overall resilience of the EU financial system. The update underscores the growing impact of geopolitical instability, particularly the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, as a key driver of financial risk. The ESAs point to transmissi

The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has set out an ambitious agenda for 2026/27, with card fees, APP fraud and wider payments reform at the centre of its annual plan. Published on 26 March 2026, the programme signals a regulator intent on pushing ahead where competition remains weak, while maintaining strong consumer protections and supporting the next phase of innovation in UK payments. A major priority is card fees, where the PSR plans to press on with action over both cros

The European Banking Authority has launched its call for papers for the 2026 Policy Research Workshop, signalling a clear regulatory interest in how financial rulemaking can support both competitiveness and resilience. Set for 18 to 19 November 2026 in Paris, the 15th edition of the workshop will focus on efficient and proportionate regulation for a competitive financial sector, with submissions due by 19 June 2026. The announcement matters because it shows where the EBA want

A recent Department of Justice (DOJ) case underscores the continued vulnerability of the financial system to relatively low-value but high-risk sanctions evasion schemes. On 24 March 2026, Uruguayan national Irazmar Carbajal De Jesus pleaded guilty to conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business to move funds linked to a sanctioned Venezuelan official into the United States.  The facts are straightforward but instructive. Carbajal agreed to transfer approxi

In November 2023, the United States imposed a record $4.3 billion settlement on Binance. It was the largest penalty ever levied against a cryptocurrency exchange. The message was unambiguous: anti-money laundering (AML) controls were non-negotiable, and financial crime carried consequences. Yet less than two years later, President Trump pardoned the company’s founder, Changpeng Zhao, who had pleaded guilty to enabling money laundering on the world’s largest crypto platform. T

The US Department of Justice has secured an 81 month prison sentence against Russian national Aleksei Volkov for his role in a cybercrime operation that enabled ransomware groups to extort tens of millions of dollars from corporate victims. The case is significant because it targets not only the operators of ransomware campaigns, but also the specialist actors who help make those attacks possible in the first place. According to the Department of Justice, Volkov acted as an i

The European banking sector has entered a more volatile geopolitical phase from a position of clear resilience, according to the European Banking Authority’s latest Q4 2025 Risk Dashboard. The data shows that EU and EEA banks remain strongly capitalised, highly liquid and broadly profitable, even as renewed conflict in the Middle East adds fresh uncertainty to the global outlook. The EBA’s assessment matters because it arrives at a moment when markets are increasingly focused

Former Nodus International Bank chief executive Tomás Niembro Concha has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, in a case that combines insider bank abuse with Venezuela sanctions evasion. The plea, announced on 20 March 2026, centres on conduct that prosecutors say helped drain at least $24.9 million from the Puerto Rican bank and contributed to its collapse in 2023. The case is significant