Financial crime compliance has always been shaped by the information available to us. We trust media reports, legal filings, regulatory notices, and increasingly, online data streams to help identify risk. As adverse media screening evolves from keyword search to machine-led intelligence, many firms have embraced the promise of scale. The claim that artificial intelligence can scan eight million data sources a day feels like an irresistible answer to a complex problem. Yet th

The US Department of the Treasury has convened a FinCEN Exchange bringing together global financial institutions, US federal law enforcement agencies and Treasury officials to strengthen efforts to identify and dismantle sophisticated money laundering networks. The Immediate Release, dated 19 December 2025, underscores the growing regulatory and enforcement focus on Chinese money laundering networks and their role in facilitating transnational organised crime. The Exchange fo

A Politically Exposed Person (PEP) is an individual entrusted with a prominent public function who may present a heightened risk of...

The Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has imposed a civil money penalty of $3.5 million on Paxful Inc. and Paxful USA Inc. after identifying extensive and prolonged breaches of the Bank Secrecy Act. The peer-to-peer virtual currency platform facilitated more than $500 million in suspicious transactions linked to illicit actors and high-risk jurisdictions, including Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela, as well as payments associated with B

The Financial Conduct Authority has delivered its first-ever enforcement action against a professional body supervisor, publicly censuring the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers for significant and prolonged failings in its anti money laundering supervision. As the body responsible for overseeing the AML compliance of more than 3,000 bookkeepers under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, the Institute’s shortcomings created heightened risks of money laundering exposure acro

FinCEN has issued a new alert highlighting the growing financial crime risks associated with cross-border funds transfers conducted by illegal migrants within the United States. The alert, published on 28 November 2025, urges money services businesses to strengthen controls and heighten vigilance around remittances that may involve illicitly obtained funds, particularly where indicators point to unlawful employment or other criminal activity. The Treasury emphasises that MSBs

The sentencing of Colombian national Michael Nunez Daza highlights the continuing threat posed by sophisticated transnational money laundering networks that exploit U S banks to clean drug trafficking proceeds. As the leader of a long-running organisation spanning Colombia, Mexico and the United States, Nunez Daza relied on bulk cash pickups, third-party bank accounts and rapid cross-border fund transfers to disguise the origin of illicit proceeds and repatriate value to cart

The latest Financial Action Task Force (FATF) update underscores a rapidly shifting global landscape for anti money laundering, counter terrorist financing, and counter proliferation finance compliance. FinCEN has urged financial institutions to reassess their risk exposure in light of FATF’s revised lists, with particular emphasis on continued countermeasures against Iran and the DPRK. The October FATF plenary removed Burkina Faso, Mozambique, Nigeria, and South Africa from

The indictment of South Florida Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus McCormick presents a significant financial crime case involving the alleged theft of $5 million in FEMA disaster relief funds. Prosecutors claim the congresswoman and several co defendants engaged in a multi layered scheme involving fraud, money laundering, and illegal campaign contributions, all linked to Covid 19 emergency funding. The allegations highlight the ongoing risks of financial crime within public sect

The return of alleged drug trafficker Zhi Dong Zhang to the United States marks a significant escalation in the Justice Department’s global campaign against high level narcotics syndicates and transnational money laundering networks. Zhang, widely known by multiple aliases including Brother Wang, is accused of directing a sprawling criminal enterprise responsible for moving large volumes of cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl across Mexico and the United States while laund

Four California residents have been sentenced for orchestrating an extensive hospice fraud and money laundering operation that extracted nearly $16 million from Medicare. The case highlights the continuing threat of organised health care fraud in the United States and reinforces the Justice Department’s commitment to pursuing those who exploit vulnerable patients and critical public health programmes. On 18 November 2025, the Justice Department confirmed the most recent sente

The US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has taken decisive action to disrupt the financial flows supporting the Sinaloa Cartel by identifying transactions involving ten Mexico-based gambling establishments as being of primary money laundering concern. Published on 13 November 2025, the finding and accompanying Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) represents a significant escalation in efforts to sever criminal organisations’ access to