Month: June 2026

Global financial crime FATF watchdog adds Iraq and Bosnia to ‘grey list’

Law, Regulation & Guidance
The global Financial Action Task Force watchdog added Iraq and Bosnia ​on Friday to its ‘grey list’ of ‌countries that need increased monitoring in terms of their efforts to tackle money laundering and ​financial crime.“The Plenary added Bosnia and ​Herzegovina to the grey list, as work ⁠is needed to strengthen its defences ​against criminals and terrorists abusing its financial ​system and ensure effective supervision of the banking sector,” said FATF president Elisa de Anda Madrazo ​in a statement. “Iraq has also been ​added to the grey list as work is needed ‌to ⁠tackle risks related to cash, increase money laundering…

HM Treasury Advisory Notice: Changes to the FATF’s Public Lists

Law, Regulation & Guidance
The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (the “MLRs”) require the UK regulated sector to apply enhanced customer due diligence in relation to high-risk third countries (“HRTCs”). This obligation is in addition to the requirement to apply enhanced customer due diligence where there is an assessed high risk of money laundering or terrorist financing, including geographic risk based on credible sources (for example the UK’s National Risk Assessment). Regulation 33(1)(b) of the MLRs requires regulated businesses (“relevant persons”) to apply enhanced customer due diligence measures and enhanced ongoing monitoring in any business…

Two men sentenced for funnelling £14m through East London high street in £190m global crime network

Money Laundering
Two men who played key roles in a major international money laundering network have been sentenced following a City of London Police investigation into large‑scale international money laundering, facilitated via the “Encrochat” encrypted messaging network. During the investigation, the Serious Organised Crime Team, a joint City of London Police and National Crime Agency partnership, seized over £2.5m in cash and gold. The pair were convicted for their involvement in laundering over fourteen million pounds linked to serious and organised crime groups operating across the UK and overseas. Ali Raza, 43, of Winston Way, Ilford was sentenced to six years in…

Gang jailed for £23 million crypto cash-laundering operation

Money Laundering
Four men who laundered £23.4 million of dirty cash into cryptocurrency have been jailed for a total of 27 years. Michael Konnor, 27 and Shiraz Khan, 47, controlled a money laundering gang that cleaned cash for organised crime groups between January 2018 and June 2020. John Geddes, 76 and Carlos Zapata, 58 moved the cash and provided key links to Irish and Kurdish criminal groups, who utilised the services of Michael Konnor and Shiraz Khan to launder money. Following an investigation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) the men were charged and prosecuted with money laundering by specialist prosecutors in…

Government sets out its plan for making the FCA the super-regulator for money laundering

Regulation
As the government lays out its plans for a major expansion of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) anti-money laundering (AML) supervision responsibilities, we look at how these proposals can be strengthened. After a period of transition, the FCA will become the AML supervisor for around 60,000 firms in the legal, accountancy and trust and company services sectors. These are currently supervised by 22 different professional body supervisors in a regime widely criticised as ineffective. As recently as March this year, the Office for Professional Body AML Supervision (OPBAS) found that eight years after it was established to enhance supervision of…

Corruption & economic crime prosecutions on the rise but white-collar criminals let off the hook

Prosecutions
New data on key corruption and economic crime offences in Spotlight’s enforcement tracker has revealed big increases in prosecutions across the board in 2024-25. But looking beyond the headline numbers, what story does this data really tell us about the state of anti-corruption enforcement in England and Wales? Domestic corruption enforcement surgesMisconduct in public office (MIPO) prosecutions rose by 104%, and convictions by 56% in 2024-25 compared to the previous year – a record-breaking spike coinciding with recent news headlines of high-profile MIPO investigations. This is the main offence for prosecuting corruption in the UK. Abuse of position prosecutions –…

Holidaymakers warned over social media scams for fake accommodation

Fraud, Scams
Holidaymakers have been advised to carry out amateur detective work to ensure they do not book into fake accommodation this summer, as research showed a third of travellers had seen an increase in potential travel scams on social media. Consumer experts have urged holidaymakers to do a reverse image search on photographs of holiday homes and check their locations on an online map to verify they are real. People may be booking in a hurry this year as many have left it later than usual because of uncertainty around the impact of the Iran war, increasing the risk of falling…

Sri Lanka sees ‘alarming’ rise in cybercrime as scam networks relocate from south-east Asia

Fraud
Experts have warned that Sri Lanka is emerging as a hub for transnational cybercrime, after a crackdown in south-east Asia pushed Chinese-run criminal networks to relocate their vast scam operations. Sri Lankan police spokesperson Fredrick Wootler said the country was witnessing an “alarming increase of cybercrimes” perpetrated by people entering the country as tourists, and then illegally setting up scam operations targeting people across the world. Authorities in Sri Lanka have carried out more than a dozen raids on alleged scam operations in the country since the beginning of the year, arresting and deporting almost 700 foreigners accused of involvement.…

Investment fraud in UK soared to more than £220m lost last year, trade body says

Fraud
Increasingly elaborate investment scams involving gold, cryptocurrencies and wine have soared in the past year with more than £220m lost to the fraud, according to a report. UK banks reported almost 15,000 investment scams in 2025 as criminals use artificial intelligence to dupe people out of their money. About £221.5m was lost to scams in which people were persuaded to move their money to a fake investment or a fictitious fund, a rise of 40% from the year before, according to the report from UK Finance. This particular fraud is popular among criminals as it often has high returns, according…

Armenia Asked to Freeze Magnitsky-Linked Funds

Tax Evasion
Shortly after the Swiss Supreme Court ordered the confiscation of funds tied to the notorious Magnitsky tax fraud, the money quietly vanished. In April, Europe’s top human rights watchdog sounded the alarm, revealing that millions of dollars had been drained from Swiss accounts and redirected into financial institutions in Armenia and Israel. But despite the explicit warning from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), authorities in Yerevan took no visible action. Now, new transaction records have revealed exactly where a portion of that money landed in the Armenian financial system—and the apparent regulatory paralysis that allowed it…

As the 2026 World Cup Looms, a Shadow Tournament of Cyber Fraud Begins

Fraud
Just days before the kickoff of the 2026 World Cup, cybersecurity experts are raising the alarm over a massive, highly sophisticated surge in digital fraud targeting soccer fans worldwide, offering them fake tickets, nonexistent travel packages, counterfeit merchandise, suspicious betting apps on websites impersonating FIFA. The tournament, which has drawn unprecedented global interest, has become the “perfect bait” for opportunistic hackers and criminal syndicates, according to David Gonzalez Cuautle, the awareness and research manager at the cybersecurity firm ESET. “Cybercriminals tend to operate in seasons and with specific themes,” Gonzalez Cuautle said in an interview with OCCRP, adding that the…

Hungarian Prosecutors Vow Action on Graft Claims, but Target Anti-Corruption Chief

Corruption
Hungary’s top anti-corruption watchdog has called for a sweeping investigation into the government of former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, alleging a vast procurement scheme that may have bilked European taxpayers out of billions of euros, according to Politico. But in a striking twist, Hungarian prosecutors told OCCRP they are pressing criminal charges against the very official demanding the inquiry. Politico cited on Monday Ferenc Pál Biró, the head of Hungary’s Integrity Authority, as saying that “high-level politicians can and may well be prosecuted” over alleged manipulation of state contracts. The watchdog had claimed that three unnamed companies received roughly 10…

FINMA Flags Remaining Gaps in Anti-Money Laundering Risk Assessments Despite Industry Progress

Money Laundering, Risk Assessments
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has published supplementary guidance on money laundering risk analysis, acknowledging improvements across the financial sector while warning that significant weaknesses remain in how some institutions assess and manage financial crime risk. The guidance builds on FINMA’s Guidance 05/2023 and follows a renewed review of money laundering risk analyses conducted at more than 30 banks previously inspected in 2023, alongside assessments of numerous other banks and institutions supervised under Switzerland’s Financial Institutions Act (FinIA). The regulator said banks have made measurable progress since its earlier guidance was issued, particularly in defining risk tolerance and…

Egyptian Tycoon Detained in Organized Crime Probe

Money Laundering
Egyptian authorities have detained the prominent businessman Sabri Nakhnoukh and frozen his assets, accusing him of leading an organized crime syndicate involved in money laundering, theft, and illegal weapons possession. Prosecutors allege the group used a private security firm as a front for its operations. The arrests, which include Nakhnoukh’s brother and several co-defendants, stem from an investigation triggered by a violent brawl at a Cairo car dealership last week. Nakhnoukh, 63, has long been a polarizing figure in Egypt. Historically known for collaborating with state security to suppress protests under former President Hosni Mubarak, he was sentenced to life…

Ahead of World Cup, Mexico Quietly Orders Banks to Tighten Terror-Finance Controls

Counter Terrorist Financing
Two months ahead of the World Cup, Mexico’s financial intelligence agency asked banks, brokerage firms, and other financial entities in the country to increase surveillance of transactions that could be linked to terrorism financing and the profiliation of weapons of mass destruction. The non-public directives were sent to financial institutions in April. OCCRP obtained a copy of the document that outlines risk indicators designed to flag illicit money flows. Experts consulted by OCCRP pointed out the timing of the instruction and the fact that the World Cup context is propitious for the increase of risk levels in financial operations. The…

Italy Dismantles Underground Bank that Moved €100 Million a year for Organized Crime Groups

Financial Crime
Italian authorities have dismantled a major underground illegal bank that moved up to 100 million euros ($116 million) annually to finance operations for domestic and international drug traffickers and organized crime syndicates, police announced Monday. The illicit bank, operated since 2021 by a Chinese national, is believed to have processed payments between 80 and 100 million euros ($93-116 million) a year over at least a three-year period. Headquartered in the Tuscan city of Prato, the bank had established branches in Spain, Portugal, Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. According to investigators, among the bank’s clients were the Italian mafia organizations ‘Ndrangheta,…

US Slaps New Round of Sanctions on Cambodia’s Prince Group

Fraud, Sanctions
The U.S. Treasury Department today announced a new package of sanctions targeting nine individuals and 26 companies it says are associated with Cambodia’s Prince Group, which is accused of engaging in cyber-scams and forced labor. “Southeast Asia-based criminal organizations often recruit individuals to work in scam centers under false pretenses, such as by offering fake technology or customer service jobs at the centers’ connected casinos, resorts, and front companies,” the Treasury Department said in a statement. “Once the individuals arrive at the compounds, the operators confiscate their passports and use debt bondage, physical violence, the threat of forced prostitution, and…

Ukraine Exposes $3.5M Scheme to Buy Off Top Anti-Graft Officials

Corruption
Ukrainian authorities claim that they have concluded an investigation into a former prosecutor with Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office and a team of lawyers who are believed to have orchestrated a $3.5 million scheme to buy off the country’s elite anti-corruption prosecutors and judges. The results of the investigation have paved the way for a trial. According to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), the group targeted a suspect in an active corruption investigation. The former prosecutor and the lawyers allegedly promised they could make the case disappear by using the money to bribe prosecutors from the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s…

German Court Sentences Black Market Banker to Nearly Four Years in Prison

Financial Crime
A German man with a history of black market banking allegations was recently sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison for moving 33 million euros in illicit funds through the international financial system. Gerard Grischew was sentenced on June 10 in the Berlin Regional Court after pleading guilty to charges of forging documents and operating an unregistered banking system. He will appeal the length of his sentence, his lawyers told the court. Prosecutors said Grischew used forged IDs and strawmen to set up more than dozen companies with accounts at German banks. He allegedly used those accounts to…