Treasury Sanctions Former Canadian Olympian and Notorious Narcotrafficker Ryan Wedding

Reported by U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) (Summary presented below. To read full report, go to: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0320) The U.S. Treasury announced sweeping sanctions against former Canadian Olympian Ryan James Wedding, describing him as the leader of a violent, transnational cocaine-trafficking organization. According to Treasury officials, Wedding’s network is responsible […]

OCC Ends Some Money Laundering Data Collection Requirements for Community Banks

Reported by PYMNTS (Excerpt shared below. To read full report, go to: https://www.pymnts.com/bank-regulation/2025/occ-ends-money-laundering-data-collection-requirements-for-community-banks) The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency(OCC) issued two bulletins that it said will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) compliance while reducing unnecessary regulatory burden on community banks. In one bulletin, the OCC clarified the examination […]

A Swath of Bank Customer Data Was Hacked. The F.B.I. Is Investigating.

Reported by Rob Copeland, Stacy Cowley,  and Devlin Barrett (Excerpt shared below. To read full report, go to: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/22/business/bank-data-hack.html) Some of the nation’s biggest banks were scrambling on Saturday night to assess the fallout from a large-scale hack of a vendor whose compromise could expose sensitive customer data. The vendor, SitusAMC, has been deployed by hundreds […]

The Web of Venezuelan Generals Accused of Fueling the Cocaine Trade

Reported by José de Córdoba (Summary featured below. To read full report, go to: https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/the-web-of-venezuelan-generals-accused-of-fueling-the-cocaine-trade-8bb251db?mod=mhp) For more than twenty years, U.S. and Colombian officials say a diffuse network of Venezuelan generals and senior officials has played a central role in moving thousands of tons of Colombian cocaine through Venezuela and onward to the U.S., Europe, […]

Founder of Chicago Cryptocurrency Company Indicted in Alleged $10 Million Money Laundering Conspiracy

Reported by U.S. Attorney’s Office (Summary featured below. To ready full report and Indictment, go to: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/founder-chicago-cryptocurrency-company-indicted-alleged-10-million-money-laundering and https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/media/1418781/dl?inline) Federal prosecutors have indicted Firas Isa, the 36-year-old founder and CEO of the Chicago-based cryptocurrency company Virtual Assets LLC (also known as Crypto Dispensers), for allegedly participating in a scheme to launder more than $10 million […]

A NEW WAVE OF GLOBAL ANTI-MONEY-LAUNDERING ENFORCEMENT HAS ARRIVED—ARE YOU PREPARED?

Reported by Sven Stumbauer (Summary shared below. To read full report, go to: https://internationalbanker.com/banking/a-new-wave-of-global-anti-money-laundering-enforcement-has-arrived-are-you-prepared/) There’s a dramatic shift underway in the world of anti-money laundering (AML) enforcement, as highlighted in a recent International Banker analysis. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) recently imposed landmark sanctions on three Mexican financial institutions—CIBanco, Intercam Banco, and Vector—linking them […]

From Dubai to Toronto, inside the crypto-to-cash storefronts fueling money laundering’s new frontier

Reported by ICIJ (Excerpt shared below. To read full report, go to: https://www.icij.org/investigations/coin-laundry/crypto-cash-desk-currency-exchange-money-laundering/) The ICIJ’s Coin Laundry investigation pulls back the curtain on a growing global network of “crypto-to-cash” desks and couriers—businesses where people can exchange cryptocurrency (often stablecoins like tether) directly for physical cash. Reporters visited more than a dozen of these operations, from […]

She Took JPMorgan for $175 Million. That Doesn’t Include Her Restaurant Bills.

Reported by Ron Lieber (Excerpt shared below. To read full report, go to: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/business/charlie-javice-jpmorgan-legal-bills.html) What would you do if the federal government wanted you in jail and Jamie Dimon was paying your legal bills? Here’s what Charlie Javice did: She spent money on luxury hotel upgrades, extravagant meals and cellulite butter, a personal care product […]

FinCEN Targets Mexican Casinos Over Sinaloa Cartel Ties in Major New AML Proposal

Reported by FinCEN (Excerpt shared below. To read full NPRM, go to: https://www.fincen.gov/system/files/2025-11/FinCEN-311-Gambling-Establishments-NPRM.pdf) FinCEN has issued a sweeping Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that designates transactions involving ten Mexico-based gambling establishments as a primary money-laundering concern. Using its authority under Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act, the agency argues that these casinos have been systematically […]