Reported by Martin Arnold

(Summary featured below. To read full report, go to: https://www.ft.com/content/46826bb8-16be-4301-a4fc-cb73231e8987)

US penalties for money laundering, sanctions breaches, and related financial crimes fell sharply in 2025, with total fines dropping 61% to roughly $1.7 billion from $4.3 billion the year before. The decline coincided with a clear policy shift under President Donald Trump toward a more business-friendly enforcement posture, including scaled-back investigations and reduced regulatory pressure, particularly in areas such as crypto and cross-border compliance.

The pullback stands out globally. While US enforcement cooled, fines rose significantly in other major financial centers including the UK, France, Switzerland, Canada, and the UAE. Even with those increases, global penalties fell 19% year over year, underscoring the outsized role the US traditionally plays in policing financial crime — and how its retrenchment has reshaped the global enforcement landscape.

Former regulators and enforcement specialists attribute the US decline largely to policy decisions rather than a sudden improvement in compliance. The Trump administration ordered regulators to narrow enforcement priorities, paused Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement early in the term, and later reinstated it with new guidance designed to limit perceived burdens on US companies operating abroad. Staffing cuts at regulatory agencies and a prolonged government shutdown further slowed investigative and enforcement activity.

The data is also influenced by timing effects. Enforcement actions often lag misconduct by years, and 2024’s elevated numbers were driven by a single, exceptionally large case. Still, the absence of similarly large actions in 2025 — with the biggest fine a $511 million settlement involving Credit Suisse — reinforces the perception of a broader slowdown rather than normal volatility.

Crypto enforcement illustrates the shift most clearly. Since early 2025, US regulators have dropped multiple investigations into digital asset firms, some of which had political ties to the administration. The SEC, under new leadership, has openly abandoned its prior aggressive stance, signaling a move toward advance warnings and negotiated compliance rather than surprise enforcement actions. Together, these changes suggest a recalibration of US financial crime enforcement that prioritizes market certainty and economic growth over deterrence through penalties.