FinCrime Intelligence Weekly
FATF maps scam compounds, FinCEN cuts off MEXC, OFAC hits the Prince Group's offshore shells and eight Canadian MSBs, and Block sets aside $764m for a DOJ deal.
This week’s essential financial-crime reading.
A section 9714 order finds MEXC Global of primary money laundering concern, citing USD 16.7 billion in likely illicit activity, and bars covered institutions from sending or receiving funds involving it.
A report with almost 120 case studies and good practices finds countries are better at chasing victim payments and proceeds than at disrupting the infrastructure behind the scams.
Treasury designated four individuals and 41 entities across the BVI, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Singapore, Mauritius, and Malaysia for helping the scam organisation hide assets and evade earlier sanctions.
Treasury says the firms exchange rials for digital assets and that several also worked with drug trafficker Ryan Wedding. FINTRAC says it has revoked 161 registrations since the start of 2026.
Its quarterly filing discloses an agreement in principle on a three-year deferred prosecution agreement with a gross figure of about $964 million. Final terms and court approval are still outstanding.
Issue №23 · Oct 26 – Nov 1, 2026
FATF clears four from the grey list, FinCEN flags $8bn in foreign-agent MSB payments, The Star's A$260m penalty, North Korea's crypto cash-out network, and Extreme Networks.
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Issue №22 · Oct 19 – 25, 2026
Treasury sanctions the law firm behind Iran's shadow fleet companies, the FCA rewrites its Financial Crime Guide, a $36.9m USDT route, student aid fraud, and INTERPOL in Africa.
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Issue №21 · Oct 12 – 18, 2026
Bank of America pays $1.2 billion over a monitoring threshold, SEB's Baltic alerts went silent, OFAC hits Iran's shadow banks, and the UK plans whistleblower rewards.
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Issue №20 · Oct 5 – 11, 2026
The OCC fines Amex's bank $350 million, Pegasus screens only a supplier's new name, the UK lists crypto platforms, FinCEN drops two crypto rules, and BaFin resets Deutsche Bank deadlines.
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Issue №19 · Sep 28 – Oct 4, 2026
The US targets A7's sub-agents, AMLA finalises three core EU standards, the UK sanctions shadow fleet and trust services, and Treasury hits Hamas charity fronts and an ATM laundering ring.
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Issue №18 · Sep 21 – 27, 2026
A7 moves 6.9 billion dollars on forged trade papers, Bitget loses 390 million to a spoofed backend, Europol busts a phone shop laundering ring, and the DOJ investigates Binance over Iran sanctions.
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Issue №17 · Sep 14 – 20, 2026
Treasury sanctions VTB Bank over Iran ties, ex-Vitol trader Javier Aguilar gets four years for bribery, the UK launches a 500 million pound AML strategy, and CoinEx shuts down after nine years.
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Issue №16 · Sep 7 – 13, 2026
OFAC sanctions a 24 billion dollar scam marketplace, Europol dismantles the Dubai Bank network, FinCEN targets Iran aviation front companies, and the UK ranks crypto its third crime priority.
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Issue №15 · Aug 31 – Sep 6, 2026
FinCEN ties $12.7bn to pig butchering scam centers, FATF finds hawala running as money laundering as a service, OFSI fines Citibank over Russia sanctions, and AUSTRAC probes Western Union.
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Issue №14 · Aug 24 – 30, 2026
A section 311 proposal against Banque Misr UAE, five Iranian sectoral determinations, an NCA forfeiture from a grain trader, AUSTRAC tranche 2 notices, and INTERPOL Operation Jackal IV.
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Issue №13 · Aug 17 – 23, 2026
Hizballah cash couriers, an Ecuador fishing fleet cocaine network, a 92 million dollar Chinese laundering sentence, a UK gambling AML fine, and new ICC and Venezuela sanctions.
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Issue №12 · Aug 10 – 16, 2026
FinCEN finds banks file 3 percent of human smuggling reports but hold 61 percent of the money, Binance cuts off 16 platforms on its own timetable, and Lebanon charges a former central bank governor.
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Issue №11 · Aug 3 – 9, 2026
UBS's $125m repeat AML fine, OFAC's Shelbit crypto sanctions, the FCA's transaction reporting overhaul, a UK money mule surge, and the Senate's Epstein SAR report.
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Issue №10 · Jul 27 – Aug 2, 2026
Treasury sanctions a Bitcoin funded Hormuz insurance racket, Lombard Odier is fined over Karimova funds, the Gambling Commission flags white label gaps, and a Brisbane bribe hides in a tea gift.
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Issue №9 · Jul 20 – 26, 2026
FinCEN puts the student aid tell in the ACH reference field, a games supplier settles over third party risk it could not see, and the OCC refuses a charter over the people named to run it.
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Issue №8 · Jul 13 – 19, 2026
OFAC designates a Danish CFO and an Italian CEO inside an Iranian shipping network, Dutch police disrupt a fraud operation run like a company, and the NCA charges five over a spoofing platform.
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Issue №7 · Jul 6 – 12, 2026
INTERPOL blocks 31,014 mule accounts in a 97-country fraud sweep, OFAC revokes Iran General License X with ten days to wind down, and the EU beneficial ownership deadline arrives.
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Issue №6 · Jun 29 – Jul 5, 2026
The US and Brazil hit the PCC crypto laundering network in a two-day crackdown, the UK takes the FATF helm with a fraud roadmap, and the MiCA deadline forces unlicensed crypto firms out of the EU.
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Issue №5 · Jun 22 – 28, 2026
Treasury hits the Prince Group scam network and Huione rails, OFAC sanctions ISIS facilitators, the FCA censures CACEIS, and ESMA forces unlicensed crypto firms out before the MiCA deadline.
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Issue №4 · Jun 15 – 21, 2026
The FATF plenary reshapes the grey list and targets stablecoins, Treasury clears 76 stale sanctions entries, FinCEN proposes stablecoin ID rules, and Ireland aims a 30-point plan at crypto.
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Issue №3 · Jun 8 – 14, 2026
A crypto mixer that sold untraceability is seized, OFAC delists and relicenses in a day, stablecoin AML rules near finalization, and the EU sharpens monitoring and beneficial-ownership rules.
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Issue №2 · Jun 1 – 7, 2026
OFAC sanctions Nobitex and Iran's crypto rails, FinCEN makes ITIN accounts a due diligence question, Belgium closes in on Wise, and US and UK rules push programs toward effectiveness.
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Issue №1 · May 25 – 31, 2026
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.
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