FinCrime Intelligence Weekly
OFAC tightens on Iran and extends a Lukoil window, AMLA and a new EU anti-corruption directive advance, and an Australian court shows ignoring a regulator only raises the bill.
This week’s essential financial-crime reading.
OFAC designated two Hong Kong entities and one Chinese firm for moving Iranian petroleum behind concealed ownership, triggering immediate screening obligations for US persons and correspondent banks.
Castra Licensee and Princeton Securities each face court-imposed penalties materially higher than the original fixed-amount infringement notices they chose not to pay.
The EU anti-money laundering authority aired draft guidelines at a 28 May 2026 hearing that define the minimum framework every obliged entity must use to assess its own ML and TF risk.
Directive (EU) 2026/1021 harmonises corruption offence definitions and minimum penalties across the bloc, giving member states two years to write it into national law.
The new general licence authorises due diligence and contingent contracts for Lukoil International GmbH but explicitly bars any actual sale or asset transfer without a separate OFAC authorisation.