Reported by OCC (Obtained without editorial changes from: https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/news-releases/2026/nr-occ-2026-87b.pdf) The Comptroller finds, and the Bank neither admits nor denies, the following: (1) The Bank is one of the largest credit and charge card issuers in the United States by transaction volume. However, the Bank has not established and maintained a reasonably designed BSA/AML compliance program. […]
Reported by OCC The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today announced a cease-and-desist order and a $350 million civil money penalty against American Express National Bank, Sandy, Utah (bank), for deficiencies in the bank’s Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and anti-money laundering (AML) compliance program. The OCC determined that the bank failed to establish […]
Reported by Chris Cook (Summary shared below. To read full report, go to: https://www.ft.com/content/372d018c-df75-4bf8-9699-7f87b8511c37?syn-25a6b1a6=1) The article examines how A7, the Kremlin-backed payment network, built and continually replaced a large system of front companies to move Russian money through the international financial system despite sanctions. The U.S. Treasury recently designated A7 as a Transnational Criminal Organization […]
Reported by Nicole Brockbank (Summary featured below. To read full report, go to: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/crypto-king-fraud-trial-begins-toronto-aiden-pleterski-9.7370119) Aiden Pleterski, the self-described “Crypto King,” has gone on trial in Toronto on charges of fraud over $5,000 and laundering proceeds of crime. Pleterski, 27, has pleaded not guilty and is representing himself after an Ontario Superior Court judge rejected his […]
Reported by Brett Erickson and Dustin Eaton (Summary shared below. To read full report, go to: https://www.americanbanker.com/opinion/adopting-an-offensively-defensive-approach-to-financial-crime) The authors argue that banks need to move from a reactive approach to financial crime toward what they call an “offensively defensive” posture. Their central point is that rapidly changing geopolitics, sanctions regimes and technology are forcing illicit networks to […]
Reported by Scilla Alecci (Summary shared below. To read full report, go to: https://www.icij.org/investigations/china-capital/huawei-icbc-banking-us-court-beijing-london/) The investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) describes how Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world’s largest bank by assets, moved $1.3 billion for Huawei from London to China in February 2019, just days after the […]
Reported by Katharine Gemmell and Chris Dolmetsch (Excerpt shared below. To read full report, go to: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-09-30/us-fund-accuses-trader-radiant-world-of-fraud-in-swiss-complaint) A US fund has filed a criminal complaint in Switzerland accusing Radiant World and related companies of fraud and money laundering, according to a US court filing, adding a new jurisdiction to the iron ore trader’s escalating legal and financial crisis. The […]
Reported by SANA (Excerpt shared below. To read full report, go to: https://sana.sy/en/economic/2347781/) Senior Syrian economic officials met U.S. business and financial representatives in New York to discuss investment opportunities and reforms aimed at reconnecting Syria’s banking sector with the global financial system. Representatives of U.S. companies and investment, commercial and financial institutions attended the meeting, which covered economic and financial […]
Reported by Max Fillion (Summary shared below. To read full report, go to: https://www.wsj.com/finance/regulation/mexico-tightens-money-laundering-rules-after-u-s-pressure-6823fdd8) Mexico is tightening its anti-money-laundering framework following pressure from the United States and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to do more to combat cartel financing. Recent legislative changes impose stricter due diligence requirements, require businesses to collect more information about […]
Reported by John Binns John Binns, a partner at BCL Solicitors, argues that conventional anti-money-laundering controls can focus too heavily on rejecting suspicious transactions rather than helping authorities investigate financial crime. Under this “hygiene” model, institutions prioritize due diligence, monitoring and suspicious activity reports (SARs). However, refusing transactions can push funds toward less-regulated jurisdictions, while […]
