Compliance Radar
Who was sanctioned, and for what?
Fines, court rulings and incidents from Europe and North America: 756 cases from 32 jurisdictions, each with an official source and checked against that source before publication. Filter by country, area of law and sector. Click a chart to drill down one level.
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Where?
by authority- Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin) €58.2m 99 % · 5 cases
- Bezirksregierung Arnsberg (Geldwäscheaufsicht Nichtfinanzsektor) €392,370 1 % · 2 cases
- Landesdirektion Sachsen (Geldwäscheaufsicht Nichtfinanzsektor) €7,800 0 % · 2 cases
What for?
by topicWho?
by sectorAll sectors
When?
per quarter, by date of decision| Period | Cases | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2023 | 0 | — |
| Q4 2023 | 0 | — |
| Q1 2024 | 0 | — |
| Q2 2024 | 2 | €9.21m |
| Q3 2024 | 0 | — |
| Q4 2024 | 0 | — |
| Q1 2025 | 1 | €800 |
| Q2 2025 | 1 | €7,000 |
| Q3 2025 | 1 | €3.8m |
| Q4 2025 | 3 | €45.4m |
| Q1 2026 | 0 | — |
| Q2 2026 | 0 | — |
| Q3 2026 | 1 | €210,000 |
9 cases
10 Jul 2026 Volksbank Düsseldorf Neuss eGBaFin: 210,000 EUR against Volksbank Düsseldorf Neuss over monitoring and reporting gaps €210,000
Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) imposed fines totalling 210,000 EUR on the cooperative bank: business relationships were not monitored on an ongoing basis or with enhanced scrutiny, additional information was not obtained and suspicious activity reports were not filed or were filed late. The function of the money laundering reporting officer had been outsourced to an external service provider with several clients.
Institutions that outsource the anti-money laundering function remain responsible themselves for ongoing monitoring and timely suspicious activity reports.
Ongoing monitoring of business relationships and suspicious activity reporting
- Authority / court
- Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin)
- Area of law
- Money laundering and terrorist financing · Customer due diligence
- Legal basis
- § 56 Abs. 1 S. 1 Nr. 20, 36, 38 und 69 GwG; Bekanntmachung nach § 57 GwG
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Financial services and insurance
- Published
- 17 Sep 2026
- Volksbank Düsseldorf Neuss eG: Bafin setzt Bußgelder fest Press release of an authority
- Bekanntmachung zur Volksbank Düsseldorf Neuss eG (§ 57 GwG) Official register or notice
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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16 Dec 2025 Hardeck Möbel GmbH & Co. KGFurniture retailer Hardeck: 379,503 EUR fine for breach of AML due diligence obligations €379,504
The Arnsberg regional government (Bezirksregierung Arnsberg), as anti-money laundering supervisor for the non-financial sector, imposed a fine of 379,503.50 EUR, final since 16 December 2025, on the furniture retailer as a dealer in goods for breach of due diligence obligations under the German Money Laundering Act (Geldwäschegesetz, GwG). Karl-Ernst Hardeck is named as the person responsible for the company.
Furniture retailers, as dealers in goods, are also obliged entities under the GwG – breaches of due diligence obligations can trigger six-figure fines.
Identification for cash payments in the trade in goods
- Authority / court
- Bezirksregierung Arnsberg (Geldwäscheaufsicht Nichtfinanzsektor)
- Area of law
- Money laundering and terrorist financing · Customer due diligence
- Legal basis
- Geldwäschegesetz (Sorgfaltspflichten); Bekanntmachung nach § 57 GwG
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Retail and e-commerce
- Liability of senior managers
- The announcement names Karl-Ernst Hardeck as the person responsible for the infringement
- Bekanntmachung nach § 57 GwG – Bezirksregierung Arnsberg Official register or notice
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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28 Oct 2025 Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen Girozentrale (Helaba)BaFin: fine against Helaba over inadequate monitoring systems for money laundering prevention €20,000
By decision of 28 October 2025 (final since 7 November 2025), Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) imposed a fine of 20,000 EUR because, from October 2022 to September 2023, the Landesbank operated data processing systems for money laundering prevention that were only partially adequate. Under the German Banking Act (KWG), the criteria by which monitoring identifies suspicious transactions must be documented, and the systems must be checked regularly by an independent auditor.
Transaction monitoring needs documented indicators and a regular independent quality review – the mere existence of software is not enough.
- Authority / court
- Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin)
- Area of law
- Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls
- Legal basis
- § 56 Abs. 2 Nr. 11b KWG (Betrieb angemessener Datenverarbeitungssysteme zur Geldwäscheprävention)
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Financial services and insurance
- Published
- 10 Dec 2025
- Mangelhafte Geldwäscheprävention: BaFin setzt Bußgeld gegen die Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen Girozentrale fest Press release of an authority
- Bekanntmachung zur Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen Girozentrale Official register or notice
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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13 Oct 2025 J.P. Morgan SEBaFin: 45 million EUR against J.P. Morgan SE over late suspicious activity reports €45m
By decision of 13 October 2025 (final since 30 October 2025), Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) imposed a fine of 45 million EUR on J.P. Morgan SE because the institution had culpably breached its duty of supervision in the internal processes for filing money laundering suspicious activity reports; from 4 October 2021 to 30 September 2022, suspicious activity reports were systematically not filed on time. BaFin points out that, in the case of systematic infringements, the amount of the fine can be based on the institution's total turnover.
File suspicious activity reports without delay – systematic backlogs in the reporting process are themselves an infringement, and the fine can then be calculated on the basis of the institution's total turnover.
Filing money laundering suspicious activity reports without delay
- Authority / court
- Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin)
- Area of law
- Money laundering and terrorist financing · Suspicious activity reports
- Legal basis
- § 130 Abs. 1 OWiG (Aufsichtspflichtverletzung) i. V. m. Pflichten nach dem GwG (Verdachtsmeldungen); Bekanntmachung nach § 57 Abs. 1 GwG
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Financial services and insurance
- Employees
- 10,000 or more
- Published
- 6 Nov 2025
- Mängel in der Geldwäscheprävention: Bußgeld in Höhe von 45 Millionen Euro gegen J.P. Morgan SE Press release of an authority
- Bekanntmachung zur J.P. Morgan SE (§ 57 GwG) Official register or notice
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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22 Aug 2025 Varengold Bank AGBaFin: 3.3 million EUR fine and penalty payment against Varengold Bank €3.8m
By decision of 22 August 2025, Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) imposed a fine of 3.3 million EUR because the bank systematically filed suspicious activity reports late from June 2023 to March 2025; in February 2025, a penalty payment of 500,000 EUR had already been imposed for failure to comply with a 2023 order concerning Iran-related transactions (total 3.8 million EUR). In addition, in July 2025 BaFin ordered comprehensive remediation of the deficiencies in money laundering prevention, with an action plan and reporting obligations.
Failing to implement a supervisory order risks penalty payments and a comprehensive package of measures in addition to the fine.
Suspicious activity reports and handling of high-risk transactions
- Authority / court
- Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin)
- Area of law
- Money laundering and terrorist financing · Suspicious activity reports
- Legal basis
- Bußgeld: § 56 Abs. 1 S. 1 Nr. 69, Abs. 3 GwG; Anordnung: § 51 Abs. 2 GwG, § 44 Abs. 1 KWG; Zwangsgeld: § 14 VwVG i. V. m. § 17 FinDAG; Bekanntmachung nach § 57 Abs. 1 GwG
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Financial services and insurance
- Repeat case
- yes
- Published
- 16 Sep 2025
- Varengold Bank AG: BaFin ordnet umfassende Mängelbeseitigung in der Geldwäscheprävention an und setzt Geldbuße fest Press release of an authority
- Bekanntmachungen zur Varengold Bank AG (§ 57 GwG) Official register or notice
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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20 Jun 2025 Saxony: 7,000 EUR fine against art dealer over due diligence obligations and risk management €7,000
The Saxony State Directorate (Landesdirektion Sachsen), as anti-money laundering supervisor for the non-financial sector, imposed a fine of 7,000 EUR on an art dealer, announced in anonymised form, for breaches of the due diligence obligations and risk management requirements under the German Money Laundering Act (GwG). The authority had previously issued several orders on risk management in the art trade, backed by the threat of penalty payments.
Art dealers need a written risk analysis and must identify buyers for transactions of 10,000 EUR or more.
AML obligations in the art trade
- Authority / court
- Landesdirektion Sachsen (Geldwäscheaufsicht Nichtfinanzsektor)
- Area of law
- Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls
- Legal basis
- Geldwäschegesetz (Sorgfaltspflichten, Risikomanagement); Bekanntmachung nach § 57 GwG
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Retail and e-commerce
- Bekanntmachungen gemäß § 57 GwG – Landesdirektion Sachsen (lfd. Nr. 36) Official register or notice
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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15 Jan 2025 Saxony: fine against estate agent for breach of AML due diligence obligations €800
The Saxony State Directorate (Landesdirektion Sachsen), as anti-money laundering supervisor for the non-financial sector, imposed a fine of 800 EUR on an estate agent, announced in anonymised form, for breach of the due diligence obligations under the German Money Laundering Act (GwG). The list of announcements shows numerous further fines and reprimands against agents ranging from 50 to 5,000 EUR.
Estate agents must identify both contracting parties in good time – even small offices are subject to active anti-money laundering supervision.
Identification of contracting parties in property brokerage
- Authority / court
- Landesdirektion Sachsen (Geldwäscheaufsicht Nichtfinanzsektor)
- Area of law
- Money laundering and terrorist financing · Customer due diligence
- Legal basis
- Geldwäschegesetz (Sorgfaltspflichten); Bekanntmachung nach § 57 GwG
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Construction and real estate
- Bekanntmachungen gemäß § 57 GwG – Landesdirektion Sachsen (lfd. Nr. 29) Official register or notice
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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5 Jun 2024 CarXclusive GmbHCar dealer CarXclusive: 12,866 EUR fine for breach of AML due diligence obligations €12,866
A fine of 12,866 EUR, final since 5 June 2024, was imposed on the motor vehicle dealer by the Arnsberg regional government (Bezirksregierung Arnsberg), as anti-money laundering supervisor for the non-financial sector, for breach of the due diligence obligations of the German Money Laundering Act (Geldwäschegesetz, GwG), and the company was publicly named.
Car dealerships must identify and document buyers for cash payments of 10,000 EUR or more – sales staff must know the threshold.
Customer identification when selling vehicles for cash
- Authority / court
- Bezirksregierung Arnsberg (Geldwäscheaufsicht Nichtfinanzsektor)
- Area of law
- Money laundering and terrorist financing · Customer due diligence
- Legal basis
- Geldwäschegesetz (Sorgfaltspflichten); Bekanntmachung nach § 57 GwG
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Automotive
- Bekanntmachung nach § 57 GwG – Bezirksregierung Arnsberg Official register or notice
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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24 Apr 2024 N26 Bank AGBaFin: 9.2 million EUR against N26 over systematically late suspicious activity reports €9.2m
By final decision of 24 April 2024, Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) imposed a fine of 9.2 million EUR on the neobank because it had systematically filed money laundering suspicious activity reports late in 2022.
Send suspicious activity reports to the FIU without delay – systematically late reporting risks fines running into millions.
Suspicious activity reports without delay
- Authority / court
- Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin)
- Area of law
- Money laundering and terrorist financing · Suspicious activity reports
- Legal basis
- § 56 Abs. 1 Nr. 69, Abs. 3 GwG (verspätete Verdachtsmeldungen, § 43 Abs. 1 GwG); Bekanntmachung nach § 57 GwG
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Financial services and insurance
- Published
- 21 May 2024
- Geldwäscheprävention: BaFin setzt Geldbuße gegen N26 Bank AG fest Press release of an authority
- Bekanntmachung zur N26 Bank AG (§ 57 GwG) Official register or notice
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link