Who was sanctioned, and for what?

Following an on-site inspection, the Finantsinspektsioon (Estonian Financial Supervision Authority) issued an order requiring the payment institution Wallester to remedy, by 31 December, deficiencies in governance and control functions (separation of the lines of defence, internal rules), in safeguarding customer funds and in the staffing of its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing function. Date = publication of the press release.

Authority / court

Finantsinspektsioon (Estnische Finanzaufsicht)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

Aufsichtsrechtliche Anordnung (ettekirjutus) der Finantsinspektsioon

Action

Order

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Published

16 Sep 2026

Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link

The operator of quinnbet.com will pay £415,986 in lieu of a financial penalty to the Consolidated Fund (the UK Government's general account) under a settlement and contribute to the Commission's investigation costs. The settlement also includes a disgorgement of £193,118, which is not included in the amount shown. A compliance assessment found breaches of the anti-money laundering licence condition LC 12.1.1 paras. 2 and 3 (March 2023 to August 2025) and of the customer interaction requirements under SRCP 3.4.3; following an error during a platform migration, some of the required financial vulnerability checks under SRCP 3.4.4 were also not carried out between February and May 2025. It is the first enforcement action against the company.

Authority / court

Gambling Commission

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

s. 116 Gambling Act 2005; LC 12.1.1 Abs. 2 und 3, SRCP 3.4.3 und SRCP 3.4.4 Abs. 1 der Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Other

Repeat case

no

Mitigating circumstances

No previous enforcement action, a swift action plan, full cooperation, early voluntary reporting of some of the failings, voluntary divestment of the funds gained from them and early acceptance of the failings.

Published

20 Aug 2026

Original amount 415,986 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 20 Aug 2026.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

According to FINTRAC, Your Neighbourhood Credit Union Limited is a provincially regulated credit union based in Kitchener, Ontario. Canada's anti-money laundering regulator FINTRAC imposed an administrative monetary penalty of CAD 16,500 on the company on 10 August 2026. According to FINTRAC's findings, made during a compliance examination, the company committed one violation of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA) and its regulations. As described by the regulator, the violation concerned written compliance policies and procedures. According to FINTRAC, the penalty has been paid in full and the case is closed. Source: FINTRAC (Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada), "Administrative monetary penalty on Your Neighbourhood Credit Union Limited", published 24 September 2026, https://fintrac-canafe.canada.ca/pen/amps/pen-2026-09-24-2-eng; summarised in our own words; not an official version and not a reproduction of the original.

Authority / court

Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

PCMLTFA s. 9.6(1); PCMLTF Regulations 156(1)(b); Verwaltungsgeldbuße nach Teil 4.1 PCMLTFA

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Published

24 Sep 2026

Original amount 16,500 CAD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 10 Aug 2026.

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 3 · Direct link

The US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) imposed 125 million USD on the broker-dealer – the highest BSA penalty against a broker-dealer to date. UBSFS admitted wilful infringements: the AML programme was inadequate, more than 50,000 foreign currency transfers totalling more than 10 billion USD were not adequately monitored and suspicious activity reports were not filed; it is already the second enforcement action after 2018.

Authority / court

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Employees

10,000 or more

Culpability

intentional

Repeat case

yes

Mitigating circumstances

Up to 15 million USD (remaining amount due by 31 May 2028) may be waived to the extent that UBSFS bears the costs of the independent review of its AML programme and implements its recommendations

Published

3 Aug 2026

Original amount 125,000,000 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 3 Aug 2026.

Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link

The Bundesstrafgericht (Federal Criminal Court) found Banque Lombard Odier & Cie SA guilty of failing to take adequate organisational measures against aggravated money laundering by a former relationship manager who in 2011 and 2012 handled accounts of a criminal organisation holding proceeds of corruption in the Uzbek telecommunications market; despite warning signs, the bank's anti-money-laundering functions did not sufficiently ensure that the origin and purpose of the funds were investigated and documented. The bank was fined CHF 3,000,000 and bears procedural costs of CHF 24,561.49; it was acquitted on the remaining charges, and proceedings for acts before 27 July 2011 were dismissed as time-barred. The judgment is not final.

Authority / court

Bundesstrafgericht (Strafkammer), Anklage der Bundesanwaltschaft

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

Art. 102 Abs. 2 StGB i.V.m. Art. 305bis Ziff. 1 und 2 StGB (Urteil SK.2023.42)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Mitigating circumstances

The long time elapsed since the offences (2011/2012) was taken into account as mitigating.

Published

27 Jul 2026

Original amount 3,000,000 CHF, converted at the ECB reference rate of 27 Jul 2026.

Checked against the official source on 2 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The games supplier will pay £4,750,000 in lieu of a financial penalty under a regulatory settlement, contribute to the Commission's investigation costs and accept an additional licence condition requiring an independent audit within twelve months. Five genuine Evolution games were accessible at scale to consumers in Great Britain via six websites of two operators not licensed by the Gambling Commission; between April 2024 and January 2025, its risk assessment and its anti-money laundering policies and controls did not adequately address risks arising from business partners in particular (LC 12.1.1, LC 12.1.2). After the Commission notified it in December 2024, Evolution immediately and permanently blocked the games for users in Great Britain.

Authority / court

Gambling Commission

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

s. 116 Gambling Act 2005; LC 12.1.1 Abs. 1–3 und LC 12.1.2 der Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP); Reg. 18, 19(1)(a) und 28(1) Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Other

Mitigating circumstances

A swift action plan with progress updates, full cooperation with the investigation and early acceptance of the failings.

Published

23 Jul 2026

Original amount 4,750,000 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 23 Jul 2026.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

According to FINTRAC, Pathwise Credit Union is a provincially regulated credit union based in Oshawa, Ontario. Canada's anti-money laundering regulator FINTRAC imposed an administrative monetary penalty of CAD 41,250 on the company on 4 June 2026. According to FINTRAC's findings, made during a compliance examination, the company committed 2 violations of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA) and its regulations. As described by the regulator, the violations concerned written compliance policies and procedures and assessing and documenting money laundering and terrorist financing risks. According to FINTRAC, the penalty has been paid in full and the case is closed. Source: FINTRAC (Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada), "Administrative monetary penalty on Pathwise Credit Union", published 24 September 2026, https://fintrac-canafe.canada.ca/pen/amps/pen-2026-09-24-3-eng; summarised in our own words; not an official version and not a reproduction of the original.

Authority / court

Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

PCMLTFA s. 9.6(1); PCMLTF Regulations 156(1)(b), 156(1)(c); Verwaltungsgeldbuße nach Teil 4.1 PCMLTFA

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Published

24 Sep 2026

Original amount 41,250 CAD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 4 Jun 2026.

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 3 · Direct link

The Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA, Dubai's virtual assets regulator) had licensed CoinMENA FZE to provide broker-dealer services on 30 November 2023. In ongoing supervisory inspections covering its entire market operations from the outset up to and including the 2025 financial year, VARA found administrative weaknesses in internal systems and controls that led to compliance failures in the company's anti-money laundering programme. VARA imposed a fine, the amount of which was not published.

Authority / court

Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), Dubai

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Mitigating circumstances

Full cooperation, acceptance of the findings and a coordinated remediation plan.

Published

22 Jun 2026

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The FCA barred the e-money institution Euro Exchange Securities UK Ltd with immediate effect from providing any e-money and payment services, prohibited any dealing with customer funds without its consent and required an independent third party to oversee their return. According to the FCA, the reasons were systemic weaknesses in combating financial crime – in customer risk assessment, customer due diligence and enhanced due diligence, screening, transaction monitoring and governance – together with indications that the obligations to safeguard customer funds were not being met. On the FCA's application the court appointed interim managers on 4 June 2026 and confirmed the special administration on 11 June 2026.

Authority / court

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

reg. 11(1) Electronic Money Regulations 2011 i. V. m. regs. 6(5)(b), 6(5)(c), 6(6)(d), 20 und 37 EMRs; Money Laundering Regulations 2017

Action

Order

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Published

5 Jun 2026

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

Between March 2022 and March 2025 a Hamilton law firm repeatedly breached the AML/CFT Act: it lacked a proper risk assessment, an implemented anti-money laundering programme and adequate records. It also failed to respond, or responded only in part, to information notices from the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA, the AML/CFT supervisor for law firms), thereby obstructing its investigators. After the firm pleaded guilty, the court imposed a fine of 60,000 NZD, taking the firm's size and financial capacity into account.

Authority / court

Strafgericht, in der Quelle nicht benannt (Anklage: Department of Internal Affairs)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Other

Culpability

intentional

Liability of senior managers

According to the Department of Internal Affairs, the firm's partners, as lawyers, also had professional obligations to uphold the law.

Published

24 Apr 2026

Original amount 60,000 NZD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 24 Apr 2026.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The nationwide jewellery chain (a dealer in precious metals and stones) received a penalty of 51,562.50 CAD from the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) because written compliance policies were lacking or not applied, the money laundering risk was not assessed and documented, and the prescribed two-yearly effectiveness review was not carried out. Birks has appealed to the Federal Court.

Authority / court

Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, Part 1, und zugehörige Verordnungen

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

under appeal

Sector

Retail and e-commerce

Published

5 May 2026

Original amount 51,562.5 CAD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 11 Mar 2026.

Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link

According to FINTRAC, Northern Isga Foundation is a non-profit charitable organisation based in Glenevis, Alberta, that receives a portion of a casino's revenues and is therefore a reporting entity. Canada's anti-money laundering regulator FINTRAC imposed an administrative monetary penalty of CAD 91,162.50 on the foundation on 2 March 2026. According to FINTRAC's findings, made during a compliance examination, the foundation committed 4 violations of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA) and its regulations. As described by the regulator, the violations concerned written compliance policies and procedures, assessing and documenting money laundering and terrorist financing risks, the compliance training programme and the prescribed review of the compliance programme. According to FINTRAC, the foundation has appealed the decision to the Federal Court. Source: FINTRAC (Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada), "Administrative monetary penalty on Northern Isga Foundation", published 26 March 2026, https://fintrac-canafe.canada.ca/pen/amps/pen-2026-03-26-eng; summarised in our own words; not an official version and not a reproduction of the original.

Authority / court

Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

PCMLTFA s. 9.6(1); PCMLTF Regulations 156(1)(b), 156(1)(c), 156(1)(d), 156(1)(e), 156(1)(f); Verwaltungsgeldbuße nach Teil 4.1 PCMLTFA

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

under appeal

Sector

Other

Published

26 Mar 2026

Original amount 91,162.5 CAD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 2 Mar 2026.

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 3 · Direct link

Following enforcement proceedings, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) found serious, systematic deficiencies in anti-money laundering due diligence, organisation and risk management; the bank enabled clients to circumvent official asset freezes and executed transactions for sanctioned persons. FINMA had withdrawn the bank's licence and ordered its liquidation; with the withdrawal of the appeal before the Federal Administrative Court, the orders took effect on 27 February 2026. The day before, FinCEN had proposed designating the bank as an institution of primary money laundering concern.

Authority / court

Eidgenössische Finanzmarktaufsicht (FINMA)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

Schweizer Geldwäschereirecht und Bankenaufsichtsrecht (laut FINMA)

Action

Order

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Employees

50 to 249

Published

27 Feb 2026

Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link

The NBS (National Bank of Slovakia) fined the French bank COFIDIS 160,000 EUR in respect of its Slovak branch for 23 breaches found in an on-site inspection that began in May 2021. The anti-money laundering programme was outdated and incomplete (among other things it lacked current details of the money laundering officer, clear rules on when standard and when enhanced due diligence applies, the branch's own risk assessment and record-keeping requirements); in 2020 only 5 of 27 staff were trained, and 6 of 7 newly hired staff with AML tasks were not trained within three months. The branch also failed to verify customers' identity adequately for online products and electronic signing, did not identify politically exposed persons, did not monitor third-party payments into loan accounts, did not report refusals of unusual transactions to the financial intelligence unit and submitted inaccurate customer data to the NBS.

Authority / court

Národná banka Slovenska (NBS)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

§ 10, § 12, § 14, § 17, § 19, § 20 Abs. 1 bis 3, § 20a Zákon č. 297/2008 Z. z. (AML-Gesetz); § 27 Abs. 2, § 42 Abs. 2, § 50 Abs. 1 lit. d Zákon č. 483/2001 Z. z. (Bankengesetz)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Direct link

Following a guilty plea to charges including conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and to violate the AML obligations of the Bank Secrecy Act, the peer-to-peer crypto platform was sentenced to a penalty of 4 million USD. 112.5 million USD would have been appropriate, but the US Department of Justice (DOJ) found an inability to pay; in December 2025, FinCEN had additionally imposed a civil penalty of 3.5 million USD.

Authority / court

U.S. Department of Justice

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

Travel Act; Verschwörung zum Betrieb eines nicht lizenzierten Geldtransfergeschäfts und zur Verletzung der AML-Pflichten des Bank Secrecy Act

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Culpability

intentional

Mitigating circumstances

Penalty limited from 112.5 million to 4 million USD because of proven inability to pay

Published

11 Feb 2026

Original amount 4,000,000 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 10 Feb 2026.

Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link

According to FINTRAC, RE/MAX Twin City Realty Inc. is a real estate brokerage based in Kitchener, Ontario. Canada's anti-money laundering regulator FINTRAC imposed an administrative monetary penalty of CAD 24,750 on the company on 4 February 2026. According to FINTRAC's findings, made during a compliance examination, the company committed one violation of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA) and its regulations. As described by the regulator, the violation concerned assessing and documenting money laundering and terrorist financing risks. According to FINTRAC, the penalty has been paid in full and the case is closed. Source: FINTRAC (Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada), "Administrative monetary penalty on RE/MAX Twin City Realty Inc.", published 5 May 2026, https://fintrac-canafe.canada.ca/pen/amps/pen-2026-05-05-1-eng; summarised in our own words; not an official version and not a reproduction of the original.

Authority / court

Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

PCMLTFA s. 9.6(1); PCMLTF Regulations 156(1)(c); Verwaltungsgeldbuße nach Teil 4.1 PCMLTFA

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Construction and real estate

Published

5 May 2026

Original amount 24,750 CAD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 4 Feb 2026.

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 3 · Direct link

Until March 2018, the payment institution had no systematic integrity risk analysis (SIRA) and therefore no systematic identification and analysis of integrity risks for its gatekeeper function. The Dutch central bank (De Nederlandsche Bank, DNB) imposed the fine in 2020; following objection and appeal proceedings, it was fixed at the reduced amount of 406,125 EUR by the decision of 28 January 2026 and was published in July 2026.

Authority / court

De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

Art. 3:10 Wet op het financieel toezicht (Wft); Art. 10 Besluit prudentiële regels Wft (Bpr)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

reduced

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Mitigating circumstances

Fine reduced in the objection and appeal proceedings

Published

21 Jul 2026

Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link

CySEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission) reached a settlement with the administrative services provider (ASP) over possible breaches of the money laundering law and the CySEC anti-money laundering directive in the period 2015–2020. It covered adequate policies, controls and procedures, risk identification, the board's responsibilities and the compliance officer's duties; the company allegedly paid EUR 70,000. The amount and the facts have not been confirmed against the primary source.

Authority / court

Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

Art. 58(a)–(d), 58A(1) Prevention and Suppression of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Law of 2007; Ziff. 5(d), 9(1)(d) CySEC-Richtlinie; Vergleich nach Art. 37(4) Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission Law of 2009

Action

Other

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Liability of senior managers

The settlement expressly covered the board's duties and the compliance officer's tasks under the anti-money laundering directive.

Published

6 Feb 2026

Checked against the official source on 4 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The FSRA (Financial Services Regulatory Authority, the financial regulator of Abu Dhabi Global Market, ADGM) fined the operator of a multilateral trading facility, which also held a custody permission, allegedly 36,000 USD because it did not file its annual AML returns for 2020 to 2024 until 16 December 2025 despite numerous reminders and did not pay the late filing fees of 2,000 USD in total. The regulator also found inadequate systems and controls; in correspondence the firm pointed to internal issues and to the departure of the user registered for the reporting portal. Without the 20% discount for early settlement the fine would have been 45,000 USD.

Authority / court

Financial Services Regulatory Authority (ADGM)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

Section 232 Financial Services and Markets Regulations 2015 (FSMR); AML Rule 4.6.1; GEN Rule 2.2.3 (Principle 3); FEES Rule 1.2.7

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Repeat case

no

Mitigating circumstances

Full cooperation, remediation, no previous non-compliance, limited scale of business with few clients and no customer loss identified (10% reduction); 20% discount for early settlement.

Original amount 36,000 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 17 Dec 2025.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

FinCEN imposed a civil money penalty of USD 3.5 million on the peer-to-peer virtual currency trading platform Paxful, Inc. and Paxful USA, Inc. From February 2015 to April 2023 Paxful did not maintain an effective AML programme for its trading platform and hosted wallets and did not report suspicious transactions accurately and on time; the company also allowed its registration as a money services business to lapse and operated unregistered from January 2017 to September 2019 (974 days). Payments of USD 1.75 million to the DOJ are credited against the penalty; USD 1.75 million is payable to FinCEN. The authority allegedly made the findings set out here; this account is not based on a final judgment.

Authority / court

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), U.S. Department of the Treasury

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

31 U.S.C. § 5330, § 5318(h)(1), § 5318(g)(1); 31 C.F.R. §§ 1022.380, 1022.210, 1022.320

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Mitigating circumstances

FinCEN took into account that Paxful was forthcoming during the investigation, answered information requests completely and on time and agreed to toll the statute of limitations.

Original amount 3,500,000 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 9 Dec 2025.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link