A New York woman has been sentenced to two years in prison for laundering more than 20 million US dollars in drug trafficking proceeds, underscoring the continued vulnerability of legitimate businesses to sophisticated trade-based money laundering schemes. The sentencing, announced on Monday, 2 February 2026, follows a long-running investigation into cross-border laundering activity linked to organised crime networks in the United States, Mexico and China. According to court

A former TD Bank employee has pleaded guilty to accepting bribes and facilitating the laundering of more than 5.5 million dollars to Colombia, in a case that starkly illustrates the continuing vulnerability of banks to insider-enabled financial crime. On 30 January 2026, the US Department of Justice announced that Leonardo Ayala, a 25-year-old from Homestead, Florida, admitted to exploiting his role at TD Bank to support a cross-border money laundering scheme linked to drug t

A Chinese national has been sentenced to 46 months in prison in the United States for his role in laundering more than $36.9 million linked to a large scale digital asset investment scam that targeted American victims. Jingliang Su was also ordered to pay $26.8 million in restitution after pleading guilty to conspiracy to operate an illegal money transmitting business. The fraud was orchestrated through scam centres based in Cambodia and affected at least 174 victims across t

The transfer of 37 Mexican nationals from Mexico to the United States on 21 January 2026 represents a significant escalation in the United States’ approach to cartel-linked organised crime, narcoterrorism and financial crime enforcement. It is the largest use to date of Mexico’s National Security Law to expel fugitives, and only the third time the mechanism has been invoked. The scale, profile and charges involved signal a decisive shift from traditional drug trafficking pros

The European Banking Authority (EBA) and the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AMLA) have formally completed the handover of all anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing mandates, effective 1 January 2026. The transition marks the end of the EBA’s standalone AML/CFT role, which began in 2020, and represents a structural shift in how the European Union oversees financial crime risks. The transfer is a core component of

US authorities have charged a key figure in a Chinese-linked money laundering network accused of laundering tens of millions of dollars in drug trafficking proceeds through sophisticated mirror transaction schemes. The case underscores the central role of professional laundering networks in sustaining the global fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine trade. Yan Lin, 41, of California, appeared in federal court in Cincinnati on 8 January 2026 following the unsealing of an indic

A federal jury in Sherman, Texas has convicted LaShonda Moore and Marlon Moore of conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering for operating a large scale illegal pyramid scheme during the COVID-19 pandemic. The convictions underscore how fraudsters exploited economic distress, digital platforms and community trust at a time of heightened vulnerability across the United States. The scheme, known as Blessings in No Time or BINT, operated between June 2020 and June 2021 and targ

A former TD Bank employee has pleaded guilty to facilitating one of the largest insider-enabled money laundering schemes prosecuted in recent years, exposing serious weaknesses in frontline controls, insider risk management and transaction reporting frameworks at large retail banks. On 6 January 2026, Wilfredo Aquino, a former assistant store manager at TD Bank N A, admitted to conspiring to launder monetary instruments while employed at the bank. Between 2019 and February 20

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