FinCrime Intelligence Weekly
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.
This week’s essential financial-crime reading.
A new FinCEN alert ties $12.7bn in Bank Secrecy Act filings to overseas romance and investment scams routed through stablecoins.
A new FATF report finds hawala and underground banking networks now operate as professional, commercially run laundering services, with over 80 percent of jurisdictions naming them a top channel.
The UK sanctions regulator penalised Citibank's London branch after it processed hundreds of payments for accounts linked to sanctioned Russian banks following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
AUSTRAC has opened an investigation into how Western Union manages high risk payment channels, after a 2025 audit raised customer due diligence and reporting concerns, with no penalty yet determined.
Belgian prosecutors seized 65.2 million euros, about 96 percent of the estimated tax loss, as part of a French investigation into alleged tax fraud and money laundering at McKinsey, which denies wrongdoing.
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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