Four federal financial regulatory agencies have issued a joint notice seeking public comments on a proposed rule to overhaul anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) programs for supervised institutions. This initiative aligns with FinCEN’s concurrent proposal, stemming largely from the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AML Act). The move aims to foster effective, risk-based compliance frameworks amid evolving illicit finance threats. Backg

Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a joint proposed rule to implement provisions of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act). The proposed rule, which implements the GENIUS Act’s anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance program requirements, encourages innovation in payment stablecoins while providing an appropriately tail

Hong Kong Customs today (April 9) detected a case involving a local company that conducted a cash transaction for a watch containing precious metals and stones valued at over HK$120,000, while not being a Category B registrant under the Dealers in Precious Metals and Stones Regulatory Regime. The company director was arrested. The investigation is ongoing. The arrested person has been released on bail. According to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ord

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (10 April) that the Monetary Authority has granted stablecoin issuer licences under the Stablecoins Ordinance to Anchorpoint Financial Limited and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited for issuing stablecoins in Hong Kong. The licences take effect today. According to the licensees’ business plans, they intend to complete the necessary preparation work and launch business in the coming few months. Mr Eddi

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has reprimanded and fined Impression Investment Limited (Impression) $2 million for failing to diligently supervise its staff and maintain effective internal controls over staff trading activities (Note 1). The SFC has also prohibited Mr Liu Shan, a former director, responsible officer (RO) and manager-in-charge of Impression, from re-entering the industry for eight months from 2 April 2026 to 1 December 2026 (Notes 2 to 3). The SFC

The AML Investigative Agent from Hawk automates labor-intensive processes such as data gathering, case summarization, typology identification, and drafting Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) narratives. Financial institutions can now scale AML operations without proportional headcount increases, enabling revenue growth and new product launches unhindered by manual limits. This agent integrates seamlessly with existing systems, leveraging AI to handle repetitive tasks while main

The Federal Government of Nigeria (FG) and the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) have urged enhanced collaboration among stakeholders to tackle money laundering, terrorism financing, and related crimes across West Africa. This call came during a media workshop in Abuja, an outreach by GIABA—an ECOWAS agency focused on shielding member states’ economies from crime proceeds and terror funding. Speakers emphasized that these transnat

The United Kingdom has imposed sanctions on Xinbi Guarantee, a major Chinese-language online marketplace that has become a critical hub for cryptocurrency scam laundering and illicit services. This action, announced on March 26, 2026, by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), marks the first time a nation has targeted such a platform under its Global Human Rights sanctions regime. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis reports Xinbi processed over $19.9 billion

The FCA has fined Dinosaur Merchant Bank Limited (DMBL) £338,000 for failing to put in place effective systems and controls to detect and report suspicious trading in its contracts for difference (CFD) business. CFDs are sophisticated financial products that are used to speculate on various assets going up or down in value. Given their high-risk nature, firms must have strong and reliable surveillance arrangements to prevent insider dealing and market manipulation. In June 2