FinCrime Intelligence Weekly
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.
This week’s essential financial-crime reading.
A Kremlin-backed payment network used forged invoices and altered goods codes to keep sanctioned funds flowing through correspondent banks.
Suspected North Korean hackers moved crypto out of Bitget's hot and warm wallets on September 24, with the confirmed figure later revised upward.
Six arrests across four countries expose a network that laundered smuggling proceeds through mobile phone shops after forging documents for migrants who entered on legitimate Schengen visas.
Manhattan prosecutors and the DOJ's criminal division are examining whether Binance knowingly allowed trading that violated US sanctions on Iran.
Kaja Kallas says Brussels will sanction election organizers and occupied territory candidates after Russia's State Duma vote, which barred OSCE observers.
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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