Author: gracechurchfcp

UK law firms get ready for crackdown on money laundering

Money Laundering, Supervision
UK law firms are bracing themselves for a money-laundering crackdown as ministers race to improve the City’s reputation ahead of a fresh financial crime review. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has been designated as the new anti-money laundering watchdog for the legal sector, in a move that experts warn could result in “sharper” penalties and ultimately reshape the industry. The decision to consolidate regulation, which at present is spread across nine separate supervisors, is part of the government’s wider efforts to combat the UK’s reputation as a hub for “dirty money”. The National Crime Agency estimates that £100bn is being…

Moving to a single list for UK sanctions designations, 28 January 2026

Sanctions
IntroductionThe UK government’s sanctions lists changed to a single list on Wednesday 28 January 2026. UK sanctions designations are now only detailed in the UK Sanctions List (UKSL), published by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The Consolidated List of Asset Freeze Targets, which was published for HM Treasury by the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) is no longer being updated. It is available for reference purposes on its old page. This guidance is to help you understand manage the change, in particular for businesses and industry that regularly use the UK Sanctions List and the OFSI Consolidated List…

Digital wallet fraud: how your bank card can be stolen without it leaving your wallet

Fraud
You get a call from your bank and the informed voice asks to you to confirm the personal details they have on file, which you do. You are then asked whether you bought something at an electrical retailer recently for £120 and spent £235 in Birmingham, but neither transaction rings true. The caller tells you they have blocked the payments but they must now secure your account, and say they will send you a notification to approve, or a code to pass on to them. You feel under pressure to protect your money, so you do what is asked. Unfortunately,…

UN Sounds Alarm on Expanding Modern Slavery

Modern Slavery, Organised Crime
Around 50 million people worldwide are trapped in modern forms of slavery, “perpetuated by crime rings,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said Tuesday. Modern slavery often involves forced labour exploited by organized criminal networks that “prey on people facing extreme poverty, discrimination, environmental degradation, armed conflict, or migration in search of safety and opportunity,” Guterres said in a message, marking the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. The UN Human Rights Council has highlighted emerging forms of exploitation, including forced criminality in cyber-scamming operations. These crimes, “often operating across borders and enabled by irresponsible business practices, technology, and corruption,” show…

Treasury Steps Up Crackdown on U.S. Firms Linked to Sanctioned Russian Oligarchs

Sanctions
Key Takeaways Two major OFAC Penalties: Treasury imposed more than $18 million in sanctions fines this week over prohibited dealings involving designated Russian oligarchs.IPI Partners Case: The private equity firm continued to process capital calls, distributions, and management fees tied to Suleiman Kerimov for four years after his April 2018 designation, resulting in 51 apparent violations and an $11.49 million settlement.Gracetown Violations Deemed Egregious: The New York property manager received 24 monthly payments linked to Oleg Deripaska and waited over 45 months to report blocked property, triggering a $7.14 million civil penalty.Compliance Lessons Emphasized: OFAC warned that firms must look…

Greek Court to Hear Case Against Aid Workers Allegedly Smuggling Migrants

Money Laundering
More than 20 humanitarian workers are set to stand trial in Greece on migrant-smuggling and money-laundering charges, seven years after authorities arrested them for their work rescuing migrants and refugees at sea. If convicted, they face up to 20 years in prison. The Mytilene Court of Appeals on the Greek island of Lesvos is expected to hear the case on December 4, bringing 24 human rights defenders before judges on felony charges of “membership of a criminal organization,” “facilitation of the entry of third-country nationals into the country” and “money laundering.” Human rights groups have unanimously denounced the accusations as…

U.S. Treasury Eyes New Power to Steer Anti-Money-Laundering Enforcement

Money Laundering, Regulation
Key TakeawaysFinCEN’s Gatekeeper Role: A Treasury draft proposal would position FinCEN as the central decision-maker on AML enforcement actions taken by other regulators.WSJ First to Report: The Wall Street Journal initially reported the proposal being circulated among federal banking regulators.Focus on Effectiveness: The plan aims to prioritize actionable intelligence over technical compliance errors that banks argue are costly and unproductive.Deregulatory Shift: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent views current AML oversight as inhibiting economic growth while failing to stop major laundering activity.Deep DiveThe Treasury Department is positioning itself to take a more commanding role in how the U.S. fights illicit finance, with…

Swiss-Based “Cryptomixer” Dismantled After Laundering €1.3 Billion in Bitcoin

Money Laundering
Eurojust and Europol said Monday that, together with German and Swiss law enforcement, they dismantled “Cryptomixer,” a cryptocurrency‑mixing service used to launder proceeds from drug and weapons trafficking, ransomware attacks, payment card fraud and other crimes. Officials said the takedown, carried out between November  24 and 28 in Switzerland, resulted in the seizure of more than 25 million euros ($29.1 million) in cryptocurrency, three servers, the service’s domain and over 12 terabytes of data. Since its creation in 2016, Cryptomixer has allegedly processed over 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in Bitcoin, helping criminals obscure the origin of illicit funds. Investigators…

AMLA Lays the Groundwork for EU-Wide AML Supervision Ahead of 2028 Shift

Money Laundering
Key TakeawaysDirect EU Supervision Begins in 2028: AMLA will take over supervision of 40 high-risk financial institutions or groups.Single Risk Lens Across the EU: National supervisors and AMLA will apply the same data points and criteria when assessing AML and CFT risks.Binding Standards Pending Approval: Once approved by the European Commission, the rules will apply directly in all Member States.Consultation Now Open: Stakeholders can comment on cooperation standards until 27 January 2026.Testing Phase Planned for 2026: AMLA will trial the methodology and selection process before supervision goes live.Deep DiveEurope’s new anti-money laundering authority is beginning to move from blueprint to…

Credit Suisse Faces Swiss Charges for 2016 Mozambique Loan Scandal

Corruption
Swiss prosecutors filed charges Monday against Credit Suisse over what they say were organizational failures that allowed money laundering linked to Mozambique’s “tuna bonds” fraud, which devastated the country’s economy in the 2010s. The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland said Credit Suisse Group AG and its parent, UBS Group AG, which absorbed the bank in 2023, are being held liable for “organizational deficiencies” that allowed the laundering to occur. Prosecutors also indicted a former Credit Suisse employee for aggravated money laundering. According to the indictment, the deficiencies enabled more than $2 billion in loans to be issued to…

TIGO Guatemala Pays Over $118 Million to Close U.S. Bribery Case

Bribery
Key Takeaways$118 Million Resolution: TIGO Guatemala paid more than $118 million to resolve a U.S. investigation into foreign bribery under the FCPA.Two-Year DPA: The company entered a deferred prosecution agreement after being charged with conspiracy to violate U.S. anti-bribery laws.Years-Long Bribery Scheme: From 2012 to 2018, cash bribes were paid to Guatemalan lawmakers and their security teams, some funded with narcotrafficking proceeds.Partial Cooperation Credit: Early disclosure helped, but obstruction by a former shareholder and new evidence later uncovered meant the company did not qualify for full voluntary disclosure benefits.Major Compliance Overhaul: Following Millicom’s takeover, TIGO Guatemala implemented extensive remediation and…

Scam Network Crackdown Takes Aim At Firms Behind Fraudulent Ads

Fraud
Authorities in Europe and Israel have targeted companies and suspects behind fraudulent social media advertising campaigns as part of a crackdown on a massive cryptocurrency fraud and money laundering operation, which allegedly scammed thousands of victims with fake online investment schemes. Coordinated actions by law enforcement in Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, and Israel in November led to two arrests and other suspects questioned, Europol said Thursday. The European Union law enforcement agency said it was the second phase of an operation that led to nine arrests in October across Cyprus, Germany, and Spain connected with the laundering of illicit funds generated…

FinCEN Turns Data Into Action as Treasury Tightens the Net on Money Laundering

Money Laundering
Key TakeawaysData at Scale: FinCEN is using advanced analytics drawn from more than one million transaction reports to drive enforcement.Border Focus: Over 100 MSBs along the southwest border are under review for potential Bank Secrecy Act failures.Global Networks in Scope: Treasury is simultaneously targeting Chinese money laundering networks linked to $7.1 billion in suspected activity.Public-Private Pressure: Banks and non-bank financial firms are being pulled closer into real-time coordination with regulators and law enforcement.Deep DiveThe U.S. Treasury is leaning harder into data, technology, and coordination as it steps up efforts to disrupt money laundering tied to organized crime and cross-border networks.…

SFO & Five Eyes Publish New Guidance on Indicators of Foreign Bribery

Bribery, Corruption
Key TakeawaysJoint Enforcement Signal: The UK Serious Fraud Office and Five Eyes partners have published their first agreed set of foreign bribery indicators, reflecting shared investigative experience across jurisdictions.Early Risk Detection Tool: The guidance is designed to help businesses, compliance teams, and professionals spot patterns that may indicate bribery risk before misconduct escalates.Context Matters: Individual indicators do not imply criminal activity on their own; risk emerges when multiple factors appear together or conflict with a company’s broader risk profile.Overlap With Financial Crime: Several indicators mirror red flags seen in money laundering cases, reinforcing the need for integrated financial crime and…

UK Outlines Tougher Anti-Corruption Measures Focused on Professional Enablers

Corruption
The U.K. government launched a more aggressive anti-corruption offensive, vowing to hunt down the lawyers, accountants and financial professionals who help criminals and sanctioned oligarchs launder their wealth through Britain’s economy. The new strategy outlines more than 120 commitments across government and includes 15 million pounds (over $20 million) in new funding to expand the City of London Police’s Domestic Corruption Unit. Officials say the plan aims to close legal loopholes and strengthen the country’s defenses against illicit finance. To disrupt professionals who “enable corruption,” the document aims to go after practices such as creating opaque company structures, providing specialized…

Cocaine, corruption and colonialism: the crisis in the British Virgin Islands

Corruption
Augustus James Ulysses Jaspert, Gus for short, arrived in Tortola, the largest of the British Virgin Islands, on 21 August 2017, just two weeks away from catastrophe. Jaspert, who was in his late 30s, had recently been appointed governor by the late Queen Elizabeth II, on the recommendation of the Foreign Office in London. The BVI is an overseas territory of Britain, with only partial independence, and the governor effectively acts as a backstop to the locally elected legislature. For Jaspert, a career civil servant, it would be his first hands-on experience of governing – and his first time in…

Illicit Finance Summit to build international coalition against dirty money

Corruption, Money Laundering
Governments, civil society and the private sector to gather in London next year to accelerate fight against corruption and dirty money, as details of major summit outlined by Foreign Secretary.Foreign Secretary calls out illicit finance as the ‘lifeblood of crime’ on UK streets and promises to ‘take the fight to the corrupt’.New funding for investigative journalists exposing corruption announced as UK prepares to launch new Anti-Corruption Strategy.The UK will host a major international summit next summer to tackle the flows of dirty money around the world, which are making the UK’s streets less safe. Taking place at Lancaster House in…

Fifty jurisdictions, one goal: Eurojust unites prosecutors from around the world to fight organised crime

Money Laundering, Prosecutions
Organised crime groups are operating on a global scale and evolving at an unprecedented pace, exploiting new technologies and geopolitical instability. These once-local groups are spanning continents and currencies, well beyond EU borders. To bring down globalised criminal networks effectively, Eurojust is scaling up its cooperation with judicial authorities outside the European Union. High-level representatives, including a minister and prosecutor generals from 50 jurisdictions representing Latin America, the Western Balkans, North Africa, the Middle East and the European Union convened to design strategic and operational actions to fight the threat of criminal groups. The event included the endorsement of a…

Rogue insiders and dirty money targeted in corruption crackdown

Corruption
Corrupt insiders and criminal networks will be brought to justice by a strengthened specialist police unit and tougher safeguards across the public sector, as government unveils a landmark anti-corruption strategy. Launching today, the new strategy sets out how the UK will shut out corrupt actors, disrupt dirty money and restore integrity in public life. It targets corrupt networks at home and abroad to strengthen national security while driving growth. Action to root out corruption in the UK will step up through a major expansion of the Domestic Corruption Unit (DCU) based in the City of London Police. Backed by £15…

FCA fines Nationwide £44m for failings in financial crime controls

Regulatory Fines
The FCA has fined Nationwide Building Society £44m for inadequate anti-financial crime systems and controls between October 2016 to July 2021. During this period, Nationwide had ineffective systems for keeping up-to-date due diligence and risk assessments for all its personal current account customers and for monitoring their transactions. Nationwide was also aware that some of those customers were using their personal accounts for business activity, in breach of its terms. Nationwide did not offer business current accounts at this point, so did not have the right processes in place to manage the financial crime risks from business activity. This meant…

Belgian Authorities Charge Ex-EU Justice Chief for Money Laundering

Money Laundering
Belgian authorities charged former Belgian Deputy Prime Minister—who also served as the EU Commissioner for Justice—Didier Reynders with money laundering, involving around one million euros in liquid cash found in his bank account. According to reports by Le Soir and Dutch investigative news outlet Follow The Money, Reynders was interrogated on October 16 in connection with unexplained cash deposits totaling approximately 700,000 euros ($803,098), which authorities allege he made into an ING Bank account between 2008 and 2018. His wife, Bernadette Prignon, was also reportedly questioned but has not been charged. Reynders’ lawyer, André Renette, confirmed in a statement seen…

Shortcomings in Money Laundering Prevention Lead to €45 Million Fine for J.P. Morgan

Money Laundering, Prosecutions
Germany’s financial watchdog has fined J.P. Morgan €45 million after identifying widespread failures in the bank’s processes for reporting suspicious transactions, according to a notice from the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). The Frankfurt-based institution was found to have “culpably breached” its supervisory obligations related to internal controls designed to detect and report potential money laundering. BaFin said that, between October 4, 2021, and September 30, 2022, the bank systematically failed to submit suspicious transaction reports to the German Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) without undue delay, a core requirement under Germany’s Money Laundering Act (Geldwäschegesetz). The enforcement action became final…

Europe-Wide Crackdown Targets Crypto Fraud, 600M Euros Stolen

Digital Currencies, Fraud
Authorities across Europe dismantled a massive cryptocurrency fraud and money laundering network, arresting nine suspects in a coordinated operation spanning Cyprus, Spain, and Germany. The network allegedly scammed hundreds of victims out of more than 600 million euros ($688.9 million), Eurojust, the European Union’s judicial cooperation hub, said Tuesday. The suspects reportedly created dozens of fake crypto investment platforms that mimicked legitimate websites and promised high returns. Victims were recruited through social media ads, cold calls, fake news articles, and fabricated celebrity endorsements. Once funds were transferred, victims were unable to recover their money. Investigators said the criminals laundered the…

First Trust Portfolios Fined $10 Million Over Improper Gifts & Misleading Records

Bribery, Prosecutions
First Trust Portfolios has agreed to pay a $10 million fine and accept a censure after the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) found the firm provided lavish gifts and entertainment to broker-dealer representatives in violation of longstanding limits on non-cash compensation tied to investment product sales. The settlement is outlined in a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) that First Trust submitted without admitting or denying the findings. The Illinois-based firm, a wholesale distributor of investment company securities, has been a FINRA member since 1991 and works with hundreds of registered representatives across the country. According to FINRA, from…

France Puts Cement Giant on Trial for Allegedly Financing ISIS

Counter Terrorist Financing, Terrorism
A French court on Tuesday opened the trial of cement giant Lafarge over allegations the company paid millions of euros to jihadist groups in Syria between 2013 and 2014 to keep a local plant running during the country’s civil war. The Paris Criminal Court is hearing the case against the French company and eight other defendants accused of financing armed groups in war-torn Syria, including the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and the al-Nusrah Front (ANF), to keep its local subsidiary operating. The trial is scheduled to run until December 16. Among the accused is former CEO Bruno…

Ukraine Cracks Down on ‘Shadow Managers’ in $100 Million Energy Fraud Case

Fraud
Ukraine’s government has moved to sanction businessman Timur Mindich, a close associate and business partner of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, amid a widening corruption probe that has already ensnared several senior officials. The decision was announced Wednesday, a day after Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) said it had dismantled a high-level criminal organization accused of siphoning large sums from the country’s state-owned nuclear energy operator, Energoatom, through an elaborate kickback and money-laundering scheme. NABU said the 15-month investigation, codenamed Midas, uncovered a group of so-called “shadow managers” who allegedly infiltrated Energoatom to systematically extort kickbacks from contractors and laundered an estimated…

Turkish Prosecutors Seek Over 2,000 Years for Incarcerated Istanbul Mayor

Bribery, Fraud, Money Laundering
Turkish prosecutors accused Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who has been incarcerated since March, of 143 corruption and organized crime offenses, including bribery, money laundering, and fraud against public institutions, according to the state-owned Anadolu Agency. If convicted, he could face 849 to 2,430 years in prison. Istanbul Chief Prosecutor Akin Gurlek told media that the indictment is complete and a lawsuit has been filed with the Istanbul High Criminal Court. The case names 402 suspects, including 105 individuals and İmamoğlu himself, who are already in detention. The indictment described İmamoğlu as heading a crime network likened to “the tentacles of…

‘Simplified’ AML rules will streamline EU data-sharing, ‘Compliance Council’ hears

Regulation
SIMPLIFYING AML rules across the EU will help institutions to share data to combat financial crime, according to a senior European Commission figure. Claude Bocqueraz is Deputy Head of the Financial Crime Unit at the European Commission’s DG-FISMA, said the move will be spearheaded by AMLA, the EU’s new Anti-Money Laundering Authority. “For years, one of the biggest bottlenecks in the AML system has been the difficulty of exchanging data and information,” she said. [The] new EU AML package has taken significant steps to enhance cooperation and information sharing at all levels. [It] introduces a legal basis for public private…

UK Jails Crypto Fraud Masters After Record 60,000-Bitcoin Seizure

Digital Currencies, Fraud, Prosecutions
A Chinese national and her accomplice were sentenced Tuesday in London for laundering funds from a massive investment fraud in China, involving more than 128,000 victims and losses of roughly 600 million pounds ($790.6 million), the Crown Prosecution Service said. Zhimin Qian, also known as Yadi Zhang, 47, was sentenced to 11 years and eight months at Southwark Crown Court after pleading guilty to possession and transfer of criminal property, offenses connected to laundering the proceeds of the fraud. Her accomplice, Malaysian national Seng Hok Ling, 47, received a sentence of four years and 11 months for a money laundering…

SFO announces investigation into $28 million crypto scheme

Digital Currencies, Fraud
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) today issued an appeal for investors to come forward with any information they hold about the collapse of a $28 million cryptocurrency scheme called Basis Markets. The SFO launched an investigation into the suspected fraudulent scheme with two raids in West Yorkshire and London. Investigators, supported by the Metropolitan Police and West Yorkshire Police, searched properties in Herne Hill and near Bradford, arresting two men, one in his thirties and another in his forties, on suspicion of multiple fraud and money laundering offences. Basis Markets raised approximately US$28m via two public fundraisers, one in November…

Albania Suspends Deputy PM Balluku in Major Tender Probe

Corruption
Albania’s Special Court for Organized Crime and Corruption last Friday suspended Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister Belinda Balluku and barred her from leaving the country as she faces charges of abusing major public tenders. In its ruling, the court said Balluku is accused of manipulating procurement procedures for the 190 million euros ($219.2 million) Llogara Tunnel project and for Lot 4 of Tirana’s Outer Ring Road. Judges continued two security measures against her—a ban on leaving the country and suspension from exercising any public duty or service. The court also kept two of her subordinates under house arrest: Albanian…

Peru Jails Ex-President Vizcarra After 14-Years Corruption Sentence

Corruption, Prosecutions
Former Peruvian president Martín Vizcarra was transferred to Lima’s Barbadillo prison on Wednesday evening to begin serving a 14-year sentence, a day after a Peruvian court found him guilty of corruption, state news agency Andina reported Thursday. The court ruled that Vizcarra accepted more than $600,000 in bribes in exchange for granting public works contracts to companies during his tenure as governor of the southern Moquegua region between 2011 and 2014. “It is noted that Martin Vizcarra committed illegal acts by taking advantage of his position as Moquegua region governor, conditioning the bidders to award them the contract in exchange…

South Korea Sanctions Sprawling ‘Prince Group’ Alleged Criminal Empire

Sanctions
In a bid to protect its citizens from human trafficking and cyber scams, South Korea imposed sanctions today on 132 entities and 15 people it said were part of a criminal network based in Cambodia. The government said in a statement that these were its “first-ever autonomous sanctions targeting transnational crime.” The list of sanctioned entities and individuals largely replicated actions by the U.S. and U.K., which together announced a sanctions package last month targeting the “Prince Group Transnational Criminal Organization.” “Among those designated are individuals and entities connected to the Prince Group, which developed and operated massive scam compounds……

EPPO Uncovers €78 Million VAT Fraud in Croatia and Italy

Fraud
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) on Wednesday said it uncovered the first multimillion-euro VAT fraud in Croatia, involving 78 million euros ($90.27 million) in unpaid tax, highlighting cross-border coordination to disrupt large-scale tax evasion in the EU. The investigation targeted a criminal group trading in electronics and hygiene products, resulting in arrests and asset seizures in both Croatia and Italy. In Croatia, six suspects were arrested, with pre-trial detention requested for five, and authorities froze two properties and eight vehicles worth around 650,000 euros ($752,240). In Italy, the Court of Naples froze 33 million euros ($38.19 million) in assets…

Exiled Gabonese First Lady, Son Sentenced in Absentia to 20 Years for Corruption

Corruption, Prosecutions
A Gabonese court on Wednesday sentenced former First Lady Sylvia Bongo and her son Noureddin Bongo Valentin to 20 years in prison for embezzlement, bribery, money laundering, and other corruption-related offenses. Both were tried and sentenced in absentia while living in exile in London. The court also ordered each to pay a fine of 100 million CFA francs (about $177,000). In addition, Noureddin Bongo must pay 1.2 trillion CFA francs (nearly $2.1 billion) in damages, while the two were jointly ordered to pay another 1 trillion CFA francs (more than $1.7 billion) for “moral harm” against the state. The verdict…

Turkey Seizes Control of Crypto Company Suspected of Money Laundering

Digital Currencies, Money Laundering
The Istanbul prosecutors’ office announced on Friday that the COINO Crypto Asset Platform and 15 other companies have been seized on charges of money laundering, and 17 suspects detained. It said the cryptocurrency company was used as intermediary in the laundering of criminal proceeds “belonging to the suspects and their relatives, which were considered to have assets originating from crime [and] were seized by the decision of the Istanbul Criminal Court of Peace.” The prosecutors’ office said that the crypto movements were likely worth nearly 770 million US dollars. “The Prosecutor’s Office stated that 645 of the 802 natural persons…

Roman Abramovich makes claim of ‘conspiracy’ against Jersey government

Corruption, Investigation
The former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is making a claim of “conspiracy” against the government of Jersey after the crown dependency launched a criminal investigation into allegations of corruption and money laundering in connection with the original source of the oligarch’s wealth. The latest move threatens to throw open parts of a secretive legal battle on the Channel island about the tycoon’s rise to become one of the world’s richest people, which emerged in September after a Switzerland federal criminal court ordered the release of a cache of Swiss banking records requested by the Jersey attorney general. The Russian billionaire…

Leaked Russian Records Reveal Obscure Firms Helping Bust Oil Sanctions on North Korea

Sanctions
For the past eight years, Russia and its fellow U.N. Security Council members have maintained economic sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear testing, including severe restrictions on selling crude oil and refined petroleum exports to the isolated dictatorship. The 2017 sanctions limit total exports of oil products to North Korea to 500,000 barrels per country per year. But an investigation last year by the Open Source Center, a U.K.-based research group, estimated that Russia shipped more than double the annual limit to North Korea over just nine months last year. That investigation was based on satellite imagery that, according…

Investigation ‘Fuel family’: Seizures in €260 million VAT fraud in Italy

Sanctions
At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Bologna and Naples (Italy), the Italian Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza) in Naples carried out preventive seizures today, in an investigation into a €260 million VAT fraud scheme involving a criminal network alleged to have imported fuel to the Italian market while systematically evading VAT. The seized assets belong to the company owned by the ringleader of the criminal network, an entrepreneur from Campania, who had been convicted at first instance on 15 October and sentenced to eight years in prison and a fine of €8 600, along with…

Risk assessment processes and controls in firms: our findings

Law, Regulation & Guidance, Regulation
We share findings and highlight good and poor practice to help firms reflect on how they are meeting the existing risk assessment requirements. In 2025, we carried out a multi-firm review focusing on business-wide risk assessment (BWRA) and customer risk assessment (CRA) processes. Our key findings centre around how firms: Identify, understand and assess risk.Appropriately mitigate risk.Effectively manage risk.This review is part of our wider financial crime supervisory work in support of our 2025–30 strategy. Who this applies toFirms.Money Laundering Reporting Officers (MLROs).Senior Managers with oversight.Industry practitioners working in financial crime prevention roles and responsible for assessing risk and setting…