Who was sanctioned, and for what?

From 2016 to 2025, the operator of the OTC Link ATS trading system lacked complete policies on systems security, access control and vulnerability management as required under Regulation SCI. Although the examiners of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had criticised the gaps in several examinations, drafts remained unfinished; the SEC issued a censure and imposed 575,000 USD.

Authority / court

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Area of law

Information security and cyber · Critical infrastructure

Legal basis

Regulation SCI, Rule 1001(a)(1)–(3)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Repeat case

yes

Original amount 575,000 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 22 Sep 2026.

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

In 2023, a federal court found by way of summary judgment that the fuel card provider had charged its predominantly small business customers hidden or unauthorised fees and misrepresented savings; an appeals court upheld this in 2026. According to the FTC, the fees added up to hundreds of millions of dollars, and late fees were also charged despite punctual payment. Under the settlement resolving the administrative proceedings, FleetCor and a further settling party are jointly paying 100 million USD for refunds; the order is not yet final.

Authority / court

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

Area of law

Consumer protection and online retail · Misleading advertising and pricing

Legal basis

Section 5 FTC Act

Action

Disgorgement of profits

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Liability of senior managers

Measures against individuals are not reported here.

Published

17 Sep 2026

Original amount 100,000,000 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 17 Sep 2026.

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

According to the sanctions disclosure of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS, Korea's financial supervisor), the online lending platform PFC Technologies transferred the resident registration numbers of 8,497 customers to a third party without their consent on 28 September 2022 in order to calculate the error rate of a new service for mortgage customers, and received credit information on the same customers from that third party, likewise without consent (such as the address and official value of their properties); in addition, when the inspection began it had not implemented password rules against easily guessed numbers. The sanction of 17 September 2026 comprises an institutional warning, an administrative fine (과태료) of KRW 24 million and a penalty surcharge (과징금) of KRW 49 million, KRW 73 million in total.

Authority / court

Financial Supervisory Service (FSS)

Area of law

Data protection

Legal basis

Art. 19, 32 und 34 Credit Information Use and Protection Act; Art. 16, 28 und 29 Durchführungsverordnung

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Liability of senior managers

Measures against individuals are not set out here.

Published

17 Sep 2026

Original amount 73,000,000 KRW, converted at the ECB reference rate of 17 Sep 2026.

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

As a so-called fund hotel, the company had its funds managed by other firms, but examined these delegation agreements only insufficiently, did not take the related decisions properly and did not monitor the funds’ returns in relation to risk closely enough. The Swedish financial supervisory authority Finansinspektionen (FI) issued a remark and imposed 2 million SEK; no damage to investors was established.

Authority / court

Finansinspektionen (FI)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Organisational requirements

Legal basis

Schwedisches Fondsrecht – Regeln zur Delegation der Fondsverwaltung und deren Überwachung

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Mitigating circumstances

No established damage to investors; remedial measures already taken during the investigation.

Published

16 Sep 2026

Original amount 2,000,000 SEK, converted at the ECB reference rate of 16 Sep 2026.

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

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

Following a 2023 inspection, the supervisor found inadequate customer due diligence and inadequate enhanced and ongoing due diligence in sampled files, no ongoing training for sampled employees and gaps in the risk management and compliance programme, such as name and payment screening manuals that had not been approved by management before being implemented, and inadequately documented arrangements for terrorist property reporting and financial sanctions. Five cautions and penalties of 28 million ZAR were imposed, of which 5.5 million ZAR is suspended for 36 months from 13 October 2025; the bank had already been sanctioned with 56.25 million ZAR in December 2024. The amount and the facts have not been confirmed against the primary source.

Authority / court

Prudential Authority (PA) der South African Reserve Bank

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Customer due diligence

Legal basis

Sections 21, 21A und 21C i. V. m. 42(1), 42(2)(d), (e), (g) sowie Sections 42 und 43 Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 of 2001

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Repeat case

yes

Mitigating circumstances

Cooperation in remedying the deficiencies; 5.5 million ZAR suspended for 36 months.

Published

11 Sep 2026

Original amount 28,000,000 ZAR, converted at the ECB reference rate of 11 Sep 2026.

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

For seven months (October 2025 to May 2026), the bank continued to send a customer advertising via its app, although he had objected several times. The Italian data protection authority (Garante per la protezione dei dati personali) also found deficient systems for implementing objections and inaccurate information about the processing, and imposed 5,508,000 EUR (Provvedimento No. 613).

Authority / court

Garante per la protezione dei dati personali

Area of law

Data protection · Marketing and consent

Legal basis

Art. 5 Abs. 1 lit. a, Art. 12, 21, 24 DSGVO

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Published

11 Sep 2026

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

The financial institution did not deliver on time the data due every seven days to the Centralised Bank Account Register (CBAR). The Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) set a fine of 162,704 EUR, which was reduced by 40% to 97,622 EUR under a settlement pursuant to its 2026 settlement policy.

Authority / court

Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing

Legal basis

Reg. 4(2), 8, 9 CBAR Regulations (S.L. 373.03)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Mitigating circumstances

Settlement with 40% reduction

Published

4 Sep 2026

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

At the payment institution, the customer risk assessment had only been introduced after business had started, some customers remained unassessed, and customer profiles were based on transaction thresholds rather than on risk. The Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) set a fine of 266,833 EUR and a follow-up directive; under a settlement, the fine was reduced by 40% to 160,099 EUR.

Authority / court

Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Customer due diligence

Legal basis

Reg. 2(1), 5(5)(a)(ii), 7(1)(c), 7(2)(a), 21, 22 PMLFTR

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Mitigating circumstances

Settlement with 40% reduction; remediation demonstrated

Published

2 Sep 2026

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

The Banque nationale de Belgique (National Bank of Belgium) found serious anti-money laundering due diligence failures at Wise Europe SA, including in identifying and verifying customers and beneficial owners, ongoing monitoring of business relationships, analysis of atypical transactions and intra-group information sharing. It made public that Wise Europe had not complied with an order of 8 July 2025 to meet these obligations by 31 March 2026, and ordered full compliance by 31 January 2027 at the latest; no fine was published.

Authority / court

Banque nationale de Belgique / Nationale Bank van België (BNB/NBB)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Customer due diligence

Legal basis

Art. 13 § 1, 23, 26, 27, 35 § 1 und 45 Gesetz vom 18. September 2017 zur Verhinderung von Geldwäsche; Anordnung nach Art. 93 § 1 1°, Veröffentlichung nach Art. 93 § 2 1° und Art. 98/1 i. V. m. 135 § 3

Action

Order

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Repeat case

yes

Published

25 Aug 2026

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

Konkurransetilsynet (Norwegian Competition Authority) made commitments offered by KLP binding and thereby closed its investigation into a possible abuse of a dominant position in public occupational pensions for municipalities. The authority was concerned that, from 2019, when a competitor entered the market, KLP had systematically discouraged municipalities from putting their occupational pension schemes out to tender; KLP now undertakes to refrain from such influence and to remedy the effects of its earlier practice. No infringement was conclusively established and no fine was imposed.

Authority / court

Konkurransetilsynet

Area of law

Competition law · Abuse of market power

Legal basis

§ 12 Abs. 3 i. V. m. § 11 konkurranseloven; Art. 54 EWR-Abkommen

Action

Order

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Published

2 Sep 2026

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

The Finanzmarktaufsicht (FMA, Liechtenstein Financial Market Authority) fined an unnamed legal person CHF 50,000 for breaches of the Sorgfaltspflichtgesetz (Due Diligence Act) – business profiles not established or updated as required, group-wide application of the due diligence standard not ensured – and of the Gesetz über die Durchsetzung internationaler Sanktionen (ISG, Act on the Enforcement of International Sanctions). The ISG provision relied on makes it an offence punishable by a fine not to carry out the sanctions screening of customer and transaction documents, or to carry it out improperly or late.

Authority / court

Finanzmarktaufsicht Liechtenstein (FMA)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Customer due diligence

Legal basis

Art. 31 Abs. 1 Bst. e und k Sorgfaltspflichtgesetz (SPG); Art. 11 Abs. 1a Bst. c Gesetz über die Durchsetzung internationaler Sanktionen (ISG)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Original amount 50,000 CHF, converted at the ECB reference rate of 21 Aug 2026.

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

From 2004 to 2018, the three issuers of paper meal vouchers coordinated with retail chains how many vouchers would be accepted per purchase. The President of the Úřad pro ochranu hospodářské soutěže (Czech Office for the Protection of Competition, ÚOHS) dismissed the appeals against the recalculation of the fines: Pluxee 132.271 million, Edenred 101.94 million and Up 44.941 million CZK, a total of 279.152 million CZK.

Authority / court

Úřad pro ochranu hospodářské soutěže (ÚOHS)

Area of law

Competition law · Cartels and collusion

Legal basis

Tschechisches Wettbewerbsgesetz, Art. 101 AEUV

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Culpability

intentional

Published

17 Aug 2026

Original amount 279,152,000 CZK, converted at the ECB reference rate of 17 Aug 2026.

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 2 · Direct link

The Comitê de Decisão de Processo Administrativo Sancionador (COPAS, sanctions decision committee) of the Banco Central do Brasil (Brazilian central bank) fined Banco Genial S.A. a total of BRL 21,560,000.00: BRL 4,200,000.00 for inadequate anti-money laundering policies, procedures and controls, BRL 8,920,000.00 for failing to verify the credentials of foreign exchange clients and BRL 8,440,000.00 for failing to file suspicious activity reports with the financial intelligence unit Coaf in the proper form and on time. According to the case documents, the reporting charge concerned 1,364 foreign exchange transactions for the acquisition of virtual assets with five clients between November 2020 and October 2021, totalling USD 744,341,982.45.

Authority / court

Banco Central do Brasil (Comitê de Decisão de Processo Administrativo Sancionador – COPAS)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Customer due diligence

Legal basis

Lei nº 9.613/1998, Art. 10 III, Art. 11 und 12; Lei nº 13.506/2017; Circular BCB nº 3.978/2020; Resolução CMN nº 3.568/2008

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Liability of senior managers

Measures against individuals are not set out here.

Original amount 21,560,000 BRL, converted at the ECB reference rate of 12 Aug 2026.

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

The BCB (central bank) sanctions committee COPAS imposed a fine of BRL 2,576,000.00 on Lebes Financeira S.A. – Sociedade de Crédito, Financiamento e Investimento because from January 2022 to March 2023 it engaged in prohibited credit transactions with a related company: its banking correspondent retained collected loan instalments, and the arrears reached BRL 147m at the end of November 2022, or 207.66% of adjusted equity against a limit of 10%. In addition there was a BRL 20m loan routed through a third company. The decision is not final.

Authority / court

Banco Central do Brasil (Comitê de Decisão de Processo Administrativo Sancionador – COPAS)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Organisational requirements

Legal basis

Lei 13.506/2017, Art. 3 II; Lei 4.595/1964, Art. 34 § 3 V d und § 4 I; Resolução CMN 4.693/2018, Arts. 5, 6 und 7 II

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

under appeal

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Liability of senior managers

Measures against individuals are not set out here.

Original amount 2,576,000 BRL, converted at the ECB reference rate of 12 Aug 2026.

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

Mainly between February and November 2022, the London branch processed 970 payments totalling around 19.7 million GBP that breached Russia and anti-corruption sanctions. The causes were overloaded alert handling after the wave of designations, delayed escalation and human error; the bank voluntarily disclosed most of the breaches and received a 20% reduction from HM Treasury's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI).

Authority / court

HM Treasury, Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI)

Area of law

Sanctions and export control · Breaches of sanctions and embargoes

Legal basis

Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019; Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions Regulations 2021; s. 146 Policing and Crime Act 2017

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Employees

10,000 or more

Mitigating circumstances

Predominantly voluntary disclosure and cooperation (20% reduction); exceptional burden caused by the 2022 sanctions packages taken into account

Published

2 Sep 2026

Original amount 4,732,830.58 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 11 Aug 2026.

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

The Supreme Court of New South Wales, on application by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC, Australia's corporate, markets and financial services regulator), imposed penalties totalling 7.3 million AUD on the fund manager: 2.3 million AUD for misleading statements (s 12DF ASIC Act) and 5 million AUD for breaching its duty of care and diligence as responsible entity (s 601FC(1)(b) Corporations Act). Between October 2019 and May 2024 the Diversified Social Aspirations Fund, marketed as socially responsible, held through underlying funds interests in companies that derived revenue from fossil fuels, among others, even though the product documents promised certain exclusions and ongoing monitoring; the company did not respond to investor concerns by amending its statements.

Authority / court

Supreme Court of New South Wales (auf Antrag der Australian Securities and Investments Commission, ASIC)

Area of law

Environment and sustainability · Misleading environmental and sustainability claims

Legal basis

ASIC Act 2001 (Cth) s 12DF (Geldbuße nach s 12GBB); Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) s 601FC(1)(b) (Geldbuße nach s 1317G)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Culpability

negligent

Repeat case

no

Mitigating circumstances

Admissions, cooperation throughout the proceedings and contrition; since the proceedings began, an independent review of the product documents; no previous court findings.

Liability of senior managers

According to the agreed facts, senior management was involved (the company's then Executive Chair and Head of Investments).

Published

12 Aug 2026

Original amount 7,300,000 AUD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 11 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 KNF imposed five fines totalling PLN 47,500,000 on PKO BP in connection with structured deposits: PLN 26m for failing to inform clients of existing conflicts of interest, PLN 8m each for not analysing costs and charges and for an imprecise definition of the risk category and target market, PLN 4m for selling without checking target-market suitability and PLN 1.5m for misleading sales material on two products. The decision is not final.

Authority / court

Komisja Nadzoru Finansowego (KNF)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Organisational requirements

Legal basis

Art. 88c Abs. 1 und 2, Art. 88m Abs. 5 und 9 Prawo bankowe i. V. m. Verordnung des Finanzministers vom 21.01.2019 über Dienstleistungen der Banken bei strukturierten Einlagen

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Original amount 47,500,000 PLN, converted at the ECB reference rate of 5 Aug 2026.

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

The licensed money transmitter had no adequate policies for system updates and insufficient risk assessments under New York's cybersecurity regulation, as found by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). The company has already remedied the deficiencies.

Authority / court

New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS)

Area of law

Information security and cyber · Security measures and risk management

Legal basis

23 NYCRR Part 500 (Cybersecurity Regulation)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Mitigating circumstances

Because of its low turnover, the company was exempt from many Part 500 obligations; deficiencies already remedied.

Published

5 Aug 2026

Original amount 250,000 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 5 Aug 2026.

Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · 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 CFTC fined the futures commission merchant 8 million USD for failing to supervise diligently the configuration and operation of its anti-money laundering transaction monitoring. From January 2019 to June 2023, thousands of foreign currency wire transfers through retail customers' commodity accounts were insufficiently monitored or not monitored at all: first because of an incomplete manual report which UBS, contrary to commitments made in earlier proceedings in 2018, replaced only more than two years later, and then because of incorrectly fed data in the new automated system. FinCEN, the SEC and FINRA announced their own settlements with UBS Financial Services at the same time. The authority allegedly made the findings set out here; this account is not based on a final judgment.

Authority / court

U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Organisational requirements

Legal basis

CFTC Regulation 166.3 (17 C.F.R. § 166.3)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Repeat case

yes

Mitigating circumstances

The CFTC recognised the remediation described; according to the order, the core problems of the automated system had been fixed by the fourth quarter of 2022.

Published

3 Aug 2026

Original amount 8,000,000 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 31 Jul 2026.

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

Luk Fook Securities (HK) was publicly reprimanded and fined 2,100,000 HKD because inadequate cybersecurity controls might have contributed to a ransomware attack on 19 September 2022 hitting numerous core servers and to full recovery taking until 7 October 2022; during that time clients could not trade via the app or internet platform. Findings included missing firewall protection, outdated operating systems and antivirus software, weak access and password controls with credentials stored unencrypted, insufficient controls over remote access and external devices, inadequate data backup and a last security training session in 2018.

Authority / court

Securities and Futures Commission (SFC)

Area of law

Information security and cyber · Security measures and risk management

Legal basis

s. 194 SFO (Cap. 571); Code of Conduct GP 2, GP 3, GP 7, paras. 12.1, 18.5 und Schedule 7; Guidelines for Reducing and Mitigating Hacking Risks Associated with Internet Trading

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Repeat case

no

Mitigating circumstances

Root-cause review with an independent reviewer, strengthened controls, no evidence of client loss, cooperation, clean disciplinary record.

Published

28 Jul 2026

Original amount 2,100,000 HKD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 28 Jul 2026.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 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 SFC publicly reprimanded China Industrial Securities International Asset Management (CISIAM) and fined it HKD 6.8 million because, between August 2019 and September 2020, the manager of a private fund set up for the insurer Tahoe Life acquired complex structures with notes linked to bonds of a related company at the request of the insurer's chief investment officer, without identifying and properly examining the red flags. CISIAM also failed to observe the fund's investment restrictions and objectives and did not manage its risks effectively. In setting the penalty, the SFC also took into account management fees of around HKD 1.9 million received from the fund.

Authority / court

Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), Hongkong

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Organisational requirements

Legal basis

Section 194 Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571); General Principle 2 Code of Conduct; Paragraphen 1.2(d), 3.1 und 3.11.1 Fund Manager Code of Conduct; Abschnitt VIII Management, Supervision and Internal Control Guidelines

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Repeat case

no

Mitigating circumstances

Remedial measures (new policies on risk management and dubious investment arrangements, compliance training), cooperation with the SFC and an otherwise clean disciplinary record.

Published

27 Jul 2026

Original amount 6,800,000 HKD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 27 Jul 2026.

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

Bright Smart Securities International (H.K.) was publicly reprimanded and fined 2,800,000 HKD because between November 2023 and September 2025 its controls did not prevent 615 clients from executing 1,021 pairs of wash trades (trades without a change in beneficial ownership) in 736 shares and warrants. Monitoring was mostly after the event and manual, and several wash trades by one client on the same day counted as a single occurrence. Similar deficiencies had been identified and raised repeatedly before but were not fully remedied in any instance.

Authority / court

Securities and Futures Commission (SFC)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Market abuse and insider dealing

Legal basis

s. 194 SFO (Cap. 571); Code of Conduct GP 2, para. 4.3

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Mitigating circumstances

Enhanced systems and a commitment to an independent effectiveness review, cooperation.

Published

27 Jul 2026

Original amount 2,800,000 HKD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 27 Jul 2026.

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

The FCA publicly censured the corporate finance firm Equity for Growth (Securities) Limited. The FCA found that between January 2018 and August 2019 the firm approved seven information memoranda for four unregulated minibond issuers as financial promotions. In the FCA's view, these documents omitted key information, such as the level and range of commissions, so investors could not properly assess the risk. Because the firm was wound up by the court in March 2026 on the FCA's petition, no fine was imposed; the FCA stated that it would otherwise have been £386,467 (including disgorgement).

Authority / court

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Area of law

Consumer protection and online retail · Misleading advertising and pricing

Legal basis

COBS 4.2.1(1)R; section 205 FSMA 2000 (Public Censure)

Action

Reprimand or warning

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 2 · Direct link

Despite a cease-and-desist notice and enforcement action of 2 January 2025, the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA, Dubai's virtual assets regulator) found that Shelbit General Trading L.L.C (Shelbit Exchange) continued to provide virtual asset services in and from Dubai without a licence, onboarded users without the mandatory KYC checks and promoted its services without authorisation. VARA again imposed fines of an undisclosed amount and ordered it to cease immediately; according to the regulator, the risk identified also concerned cross-border transactions with possible consequences for the integrity of the UAE financial system.

Authority / court

Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), Dubai

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Customer due diligence

Legal basis

Federal Decree-Law No. (10) of 2025 (AML/CFT/PF); Cabinet Resolution No. (111) of 2022; Dubai Law No. (4) of 2022 Regulating Virtual Assets in the Emirate of Dubai; VARA Regulations and Rulebooks

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Repeat case

yes

Published

24 Jul 2026

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

According to FINTRAC, Caisse populaire acadienne ltée is a federally regulated credit union based in Caraquet, New Brunswick. Canada's anti-money laundering regulator FINTRAC imposed an administrative monetary penalty of CAD 676,500 on the company on 23 July 2026. According to FINTRAC's findings, made during a compliance examination, the company committed 3 violations of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA) and its regulations. As described by the regulator, the violations concerned suspicious transaction reporting, written compliance policies and procedures and assessing and documenting money laundering and terrorist financing risks. Specifically, according to FINTRAC, the credit union failed in four instances to report multiple transactions that showed indicators of suspicion. 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 Caisse populaire acadienne ltée", published 24 September 2026, https://fintrac-canafe.canada.ca/pen/amps/pen-2026-09-24-4-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 · Suspicious activity reports

Legal basis

PCMLTFA s. 7, 9.6(1); PCMLTF Regulations 156(1)(b), 156(1)(c), 156(2); Verwaltungsgeldbuße nach Teil 4.1 PCMLTFA

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Published

24 Sep 2026

Original amount 676,500 CAD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 23 Jul 2026.

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

The financial services provider had not made sure that its clients were protected against losses from theft, fraud or other dishonest acts by its employees; one individual's misconduct caused clients substantial losses. The company was directed to introduce, within two months, a policy protecting against such risks. The amount and the facts have not been confirmed against the primary source.

Authority / court

Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Organisational requirements

Legal basis

Sections 2 und 11 General Code of Conduct for Authorised Financial Services Providers and Representatives (2003); Section 13(3)(a) Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act 37 of 2002; Section 42(1) Determination of Fit and Proper Requirements for Financial Services Providers (2017)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Mitigating circumstances

According to the authority's update of 22 July 2026, the company had itself discovered and reported the contraventions, which occurred in 2021.

Liability of senior managers

Measures against individuals are not set out here.

Published

17 Jul 2026

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

The NYDFS imposed a penalty of USD 50 million on Swedbank AB (publ) and its New York branch. In response to several requests by the regulator under section 37 of the New York Banking Law concerning links between its Baltic subsidiaries and the law firm Mossack Fonseca (Panama Papers) and the status of European investigations, the bank did not provide the requested information, in breach of section 125(3) of the New York Banking Law. The authority allegedly made the findings set out here; this account is not based on a final judgment.

Authority / court

New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Disclosure and reporting obligations

Legal basis

New York Banking Law § 125(3) i. V. m. § 37; Sanktion nach Banking Law §§ 39, 44

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Employees

10,000 or more

Liability of senior managers

According to the order, the bank has since, among other things, dismissed its then Chief Compliance Officer and its former CEO and parted ways with numerous other employees; the majority of the board has been replaced.

Published

16 Jul 2026

Original amount 50,000,000 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 16 Jul 2026.

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

The PRA fined HDI Global SE, an insurer headquartered in Hanover that operates in the UK through a branch, 4,165,000 GBP. Between August 2021 and August 2024 the firm repeatedly submitted incorrect data on liabilities protected by the FSCS and on the FSCS levy tariff, including in supposedly corrected submissions; it lacked written procedures, clear accountability and internal oversight, and before summer 2023 it did not consult the PRA's rules and guidance.

Authority / court

Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), Bank of England

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Disclosure and reporting obligations

Legal basis

PRA Fundamental Rules 2 und 6; s. 206 FSMA 2000

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Culpability

negligent

Mitigating circumstances

Detailed account under the Early Account Scheme, settlement with a 30% discount (otherwise 5,950,000 GBP), corrected historical data and additional FSCS levies paid; in the PRA's view the breaches were neither deliberate nor reckless.

Published

20 Jul 2026

Original amount 4,165,000 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 16 Jul 2026.

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

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.

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

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

The Baltimore-based US asset manager had not submitted voting rights notifications to the issuer and BaFin in time; the deadline is four trading days after reaching a notifiable threshold. BaFin imposed a fine of 187,500 EUR; the notice is final.

Authority / court

Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Disclosure and reporting obligations

Legal basis

§ 33 Abs. 1 Satz 1 WpHG

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Published

22 Jul 2026

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

The Federal Court of Australia, on application by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC, Australia's corporate, markets and financial services regulator), imposed a penalty of 20.5 million AUD on the exchange operator because a market announcement of 10 February 2022 stated that the project to replace its CHESS clearing and settlement system was progressing well. About six weeks later ASX announced a likely delay and paused the project in November 2022; in June 2026 it admitted contraventions of ss 12DA and 12DB of the ASIC Act.

Authority / court

Federal Court of Australia (auf Antrag der Australian Securities and Investments Commission, ASIC)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Disclosure and reporting obligations

Legal basis

Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (Cth) ss 12DA, 12DB(1)(a) und (e)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Published

3 Jul 2026

Original amount 20,500,000 AUD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 3 Jul 2026.

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

IRB-Brasil Resseguros S.A. concluded a Termo de Compromisso (settlement in sanction proceedings) with the CGU and allegedly pays a fine of BRL 6,317,473.41 because the company had hindered the investigative and supervisory activity of the insurance supervisor SUSEP (Art. 5 V Lei 12.846/2013). The fine equals the statutory minimum of 0.1% of gross revenue (BRL 6,509,921.81) less BRL 192,448.40 already paid in SUSEP proceedings over inconsistent reporting. Extraordinary publication was waived, and the proceedings are thereby closed.

Authority / court

Controladoria-Geral da União (CGU)

Area of law

Bribery and corruption

Legal basis

Lei 12.846/2013, Art. 5 V, Art. 6 I; Decreto 11.129/2022, Art. 25 § 2; Portaria Normativa CGU 155/2024

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Repeat case

no

Mitigating circumstances

Credit was given for a compliance programme (3.6%), the absence of proof of advantage or damage (1%) and settlement-related reductions for cooperation and admission; fines already paid to SUSEP were deducted.

Published

3 Jul 2026

Original amount 6,317,473.41 BRL, converted at the ECB reference rate of 2 Jul 2026.

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

At the request of a third party and outside the scope of his duties, a bank employee retrieved account statements of a data subject (name, IBAN, transactions, balances). The Romanian data protection authority (ANSPDCP) found insufficient technical and organisational measures and imposed 26,172 lei (5,000 EUR); the bank has paid the fine. Date = publication of the press release; according to the authority, the investigation was concluded in the previous month.

Authority / court

Autoritatea Națională de Supraveghere a Prelucrării Datelor cu Caracter Personal (ANSPDCP)

Area of law

Data protection · Data breaches and data security

Legal basis

Art. 32 Abs. 1, 2 und 4 DSGVO

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Published

2 Jul 2026

Original amount 26,172 RON, converted at the ECB reference rate of 2 Jul 2026.

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

The credit rating agency did not submit up-to-date rating information to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), did not provide complete historical performance data to the central repository and lacked adequate procedures and internal control mechanisms. ESMA found negligent infringements and imposed fines totalling 2,145,000 EUR.

Authority / court

Europäische Wertpapier- und Marktaufsichtsbehörde (ESMA)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Organisational requirements

Legal basis

Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1060/2009 (CRA-Verordnung), Art. 24, 36a, Anhang III

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Culpability

negligent

Repeat case

yes

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

Because Paysera did not comply with the order to submit its 2024 annual financial statements by 30 September 2025, the Lietuvos bankas (Bank of Lithuania, financial supervisor) first imposed 20,000 EUR in November 2025 and then a daily fine of 1,000 EUR (rising to 2,000 and 3,000 EUR respectively). As the infringement was only remedied after 6 May 2026, the daily fine added up to 362,000 EUR. Source: archived copy of the press release.

Authority / court

Lietuvos bankas (Litauische Zentralbank, Finanzaufsicht)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Disclosure and reporting obligations

Legal basis

Aufsichtsrechtliche Anordnung und Berichtspflichten nach litauischem E-Geld-Recht

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Repeat case

yes

Published

30 Jun 2026

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

The FCA barred the debt advice firm Curtis Faraday Limited with immediate effect from accepting new customers or referrals for debt, insolvency and IVA-related activities and required it to refer existing customers to other advice providers. Based on file reviews and call recordings, the FCA saw indications that customers' financial information was distorted during the advice process, that the business model, with close links to insolvency service providers, created conflicts of interest and a bias towards commission-generating solutions, that staff circumvented controls and that the firm repeatedly gave the FCA incomplete or inconsistent information.

Authority / court

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Organisational requirements

Legal basis

s. 55L(3)(a) FSMA 2000; Threshold Conditions nach Schedule 6 FSMA (paras. 2C, 2D, 2E und 2F)

Action

Order

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

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

The CFTC fined Netrios LP Ltd., incorporated in Saint Lucia, 1,750,000 USD and Maltese Red Acre Ltd. 750,000 USD, totalling 2,500,000 USD. From 2019 to September 2025, Netrios sold a white-label service (website, trading software, margin accounts, execution, back office) through which offshore platforms offered US retail customers who were not eligible contract participants leveraged forex, precious metals, crypto and equity transactions outside a registered exchange; Red Acre assisted with customer support and marketing. The SEC took parallel action over the same conduct. The authority allegedly made the findings set out here; this account is not based on a final judgment.

Authority / court

U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Organisational requirements

Legal basis

Section 4(a) Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. § 6(a)); Beihilfe nach Section 13(a) (7 U.S.C. § 13c(a))

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Published

29 Jun 2026

Original amount 2,500,000 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 26 Jun 2026.

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

In stock option plans for employees of client companies (2018–2023), the bank did not fully inform the beneficiaries about costs, had initially not recorded the conflicts of interest in this business and assessed clients’ knowledge only with a yes/no question. The Autorité des services et marchés financiers (Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority, FSMA) accepted a settlement of 1 million EUR with publication by name and commitments on cost information.

Authority / court

Autorité des services et marchés financiers (FSMA)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Organisational requirements

Legal basis

Loi du 2 août 2002; Wohlverhaltensregeln (Loyalität, Kostentransparenz, bestmögliche Ausführung, Interessenkonflikte, Kundenkenntnis)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Repeat case

yes

Mitigating circumstances

Remediation of all deficiencies (appropriateness test, conflicts policy, cost disclosure, waiver of CVA/KVA discounts).

Published

26 Jun 2026

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

According to the AMF (Autorité des marchés financiers, French financial markets authority) Enforcement Committee, the online broker Bourse Direct did not properly submit its transaction reports under Art. 26 MiFIR between January 2021 and November 2023 and did not maintain an adequate system to detect and report suspicious orders and transactions under Art. 16(2) MAR. The company received EUR 800,000. The amount covers only the sanction imposed on the company.

Authority / court

Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), Commission des sanctions

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Disclosure and reporting obligations

Legal basis

Art. 26 Verordnung (EU) Nr. 600/2014 (MiFIR); Art. 15 Delegierte Verordnung (EU) 2017/590; Art. 16 Abs. 2 Verordnung (EU) Nr. 596/2014 (MAR); Art. 2, 3 Delegierte Verordnung (EU) 2016/957

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Employees

50 to 249

Published

25 Jun 2026

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

Following an on-site inspection from February to April 2025, the Bank of Italy (Banca d'Italia) found deficiencies in customer due diligence, active cooperation (suspicious transaction reporting) and anti-money laundering controls, and imposed an administrative fine of 40,000 EUR. The duration of the deficiencies and the corrective measures initiated were taken into account.

Authority / court

Banca d'Italia

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Customer due diligence

Legal basis

Art. 62 d.lgs. 231/2007; Verstöße gegen Art. 7, 16–19, 24, 25, 35, 36 d.lgs. 231/2007

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Mitigating circumstances

Corrective measures initiated

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

The debt collection company posted personal data of alleged debtors on the internet, some of it particularly sensitive, in order to obtain information on their whereabouts and to warn third parties. The Swiss Federal Administrative Court (Bundesverwaltungsgericht, A-3891/2025) upheld the ruling of the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (EDÖB) of 28 April 2025, according to which this constitutes an unjustified violation of privacy.

Authority / court

Bundesverwaltungsgericht (A-3891/2025) auf Verfügung des EDÖB vom 28.04.2025

Area of law

Data protection · Data subject rights and transparency

Legal basis

DSG Art. 6, Art. 19, Art. 31

Action

Order

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Published

20 Aug 2026

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

From 2 October 2023 to 22 October 2024, contrary to a 2023 ECB decision, Banque Internationale à Luxembourg did not apply the newly approved internal models for the expected loss best estimate (ELBE) of defaulted retail and corporate exposures and therefore reported an IRB shortfall to be deducted from Common Equity Tier 1 capital that was too small. The ECB regarded the breach as intentional and severe and imposed 3,255,000 EUR; remedial action was taken into account as mitigating.

Authority / court

Europäische Zentralbank (EZB), Bankenaufsicht

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Organisational requirements

Legal basis

Art. 18 Abs. 7 VO (EU) Nr. 1024/2013 (Verstoß gegen einen EZB-Beschluss zu internen Modellen)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Culpability

intentional

Mitigating circumstances

Remedial action to alleviate the effects and to prevent future breaches.

Published

29 Jun 2026

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

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a public censure because the London branch opened and operated accounts for the wealth manager WealthTek, although its own register searches showed that it lacked permissions to hold client assets, and overlooked a restriction noted in the register; 16 monitoring alerts were not worked through over two years, and more than £314 million flowed through the accounts. In view of cooperation and a voluntary payment of £31.7 million to WealthTek clients, the FCA refrained from imposing a fine (otherwise £23.1 million after discount).

Authority / court

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Customer due diligence

Legal basis

Section 205 FSMA (Public Censure) wegen Verstoßes gegen FCA Principle 2; Maßstab u. a. SYSC 6.1.1R, 6.3.1R, 6.3.3R und Regulations 18, 27, 28 MLR 2017

Action

Reprimand or warning

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Mitigating circumstances

Cooperation, acknowledgement of the deficiencies and a voluntary payment of £31,714,068 to those harmed

Published

25 Jun 2026

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

From February to May 2025 the online broker wrongly displayed at least 77 US ETFs and ETNs as eligible for NISA (59 clients traded 25 of them in the tax-advantaged account) and repeated this for a further security after discovery, handled affected clients carelessly and unequally, had since 2024 refused all transfers of holdings to other institutions, carried out no suspicious-transaction assessment for at least 1,531 rejected account applicants and managed cyber and system risks inadequately. Soliciting and accepting new accounts was prohibited from 19 June to 18 September 2026, together with a business improvement order.

Authority / court

Kanto Local Finance Bureau (関東財務局) auf Empfehlung der Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC, 証券取引等監視委員会)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Organisational requirements

Legal basis

Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA, 金融商品取引法) Art. 52 Abs. 1, Art. 51; Art. 38 Nr. 1, Art. 43, Art. 40 Nr. 2 FIEA i. V. m. Art. 123 Abs. 1 Nr. 14 Cabinet Office Order on Financial Instruments Business; Act on Prevention of Transfer of Criminal Proceeds (犯罪収益移転防止法)

Action

Order

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Published

19 Jun 2026

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

HSBC admitted that from May 2023 to May 2024 it lacked adequate controls against unauthorised payments via its internal transfer channel, that from January 2020 it handled scam reports under the ePayments Code too slowly (144 days on average) and without applying the liability rules, and that until April 2024 it gave affected customers no orderly way back into their accounts. The Court imposed AUD 35 million (AUD 10 million for the fraud controls, AUD 22.5 million for the contraventions relating to the ePayments Code, AUD 2.5 million for restoring account access) and ordered notices on the website, in the app and in letters to customers.

Authority / court

Federal Court of Australia (auf Antrag der Australian Securities and Investments Commission, ASIC)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Organisational requirements

Legal basis

s 912A(1)(a), (5A) Corporations Act 2001 (Cth); s 47(1)(a), (4) National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (Cth)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Repeat case

no

Mitigating circumstances

Admissions and jointly proposed penalty; remediation programme with payments of AUD 27,915,700.56 by 21 May 2026; no previous contraventions of a similar nature.

Liability of senior managers

According to the agreed facts, senior management was also aware before May 2023 of heightened fraud risks and gaps in the controls.

Published

18 Jun 2026

Original amount 35,000,000 AUD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 18 Jun 2026.

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

For the period April 2022 to May 2023, the Swedish financial supervisory authority Finansinspektionen (FI) found that the bank’s general risk assessment did not realistically assess the terrorist financing risks of its corporate products and that no enhanced due diligence measures were taken for high-risk corporate customers. FI issued a remark and imposed 140 million SEK; the bank has brought an action before the administrative court.

Authority / court

Finansinspektionen (FI)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Customer due diligence

Legal basis

Penningtvättslagen (2017:630)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

under appeal

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Published

17 Jun 2026

Original amount 140,000,000 SEK, converted at the ECB reference rate of 17 Jun 2026.

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

According to investigations by the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA, Dubai's virtual assets regulator), MX Global Ltd, which trades under the MEXC brand, provided broker-dealer and/or exchange services to customers in Dubai without a licence from 2022 to April 2026 and onboarded users without the KYC checks required by law. VARA imposed fines of an undisclosed amount and ordered the immediate cessation of all unlicensed activities in or from Dubai; other group companies were expressly not affected.

Authority / court

Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), Dubai

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Customer due diligence

Legal basis

Federal Decree-Law No. (10) of 2025 (AML/CFT/PF); Dubai Law No. (4) of 2022 Regulating Virtual Assets in the Emirate of Dubai; Cabinet Resolution No. 111/2022; VARA Regulations and Rulebooks

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Mitigating circumstances

Full cooperation, compliance with the cease-and-desist orders and a stated intention to apply for a VARA licence.

Published

22 Jun 2026

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

Following VARA investigations, Peken Global Limited, trading as KuCoin, provided virtual asset broker-dealer and/or exchange services to customers in Dubai without a licence. VARA imposed fines of an undisclosed amount and ordered the immediate cessation of all unlicensed activities; other group entities were expressly not affected.

Authority / court

Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), Dubai

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision

Legal basis

Federal Decree Law No. (10) of 2025 (AML/CFT/PF); Dubai Law No. (4) of 2022 Regulating Virtual Assets; Cabinet Resolution No. 111/2022; VARA Regulations und Rulebooks

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Mitigating circumstances

Full cooperation and full compliance with the measures; intention to go through the licensing process.

Published

24 Jun 2026

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

The CONSOB (Italian securities regulator) fined Banco BPM S.p.A. 370,000 EUR, of which 170,000 EUR for late disclosure of inside information under Art. 17(1) MAR and 200,000 EUR for obstructing supervision under Art. 187-quinquiesdecies of the Consolidated Law on Finance (TUF), and fined its subsidiary Banco BPM Vita S.p.A. 200,000 EUR, 570,000 EUR in total. In connection with BPM Vita's tender offer for Anima Holding S.p.A., the bank disclosed an ECB letter of 21 March 2025 rejecting the application of the so-called Danish Compromise to CONSOB and the market only four days later, after two trading days of the acceptance period. Both companies had previously informed CONSOB only incompletely about their discussions with the ECB.

Authority / court

CONSOB (Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Disclosure and reporting obligations

Legal basis

Art. 17 Abs. 1 Verordnung (EU) 596/2014 (MAR); Art. 187-ter.1 und Art. 187-quinquiesdecies Abs. 1 und 1-ter D.Lgs. 58/1998 (TUF)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Culpability

negligent

Repeat case

yes

Published

23 Jun 2026

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

Between 2018 and 2020 the since-collapsed CFD issuer Union Standard and its two authorised representatives EuropeFX and TradeFred pushed inexperienced and vulnerable customers into trading risky contracts for difference using aggressive sales tactics; customers lost more than AUD 83 million, while in most cases the representatives profited from those losses. The Court imposed AUD 156.7 million on Union Standard, AUD 114.1 million on EuropeFX and AUD 29.4 million on TradeFred, together with a permanent ban on EuropeFX and an obligation for it to refund customers’ net deposits. For the first time a licensee was also penalised for distributing CFDs to customers in China although it knew or ought to have known of their legal risk.

Authority / court

Federal Court of Australia (auf Antrag der Australian Securities and Investments Commission, ASIC)

Area of law

Consumer protection and online retail

Legal basis

ASIC Act 2001 (Cth): Verbot von unconscionable conduct und irreführenden Angaben; Corporations Act 2001 (Cth): Pflicht des Lizenzinhabers zu effizienter, ehrlicher und fairer Leistungserbringung

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Published

12 Jun 2026

Original amount 300,200,000 AUD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 11 Jun 2026.

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

ASIC issued an infringement notice because on 208 business days between October 2024 and August 2025 Deutsche Bank had not accurately reported the “direction” fields for 20,483 outstanding and 244,091 terminated or matured OTC derivative transactions, mostly foreign exchange trades, to trade repositories. The bank allegedly paid AUD 2 million under the infringement notice; payment is not an admission of guilt.

Authority / court

Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Disclosure and reporting obligations

Legal basis

Rule 2.2.6 ASIC Derivative Transaction Rules (Reporting) 2024; reg 7.5A.104 Corporations Regulations 2001

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Employees

10,000 or more

Mitigating circumstances

Cooperation with ASIC and measures to prevent further reporting errors.

Published

13 Jul 2026

Original amount 2,000,000 AUD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 11 Jun 2026.

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

According to FINTRAC, Caisse populaire Alliance limitée is a provincially regulated credit union based in North Bay, Ontario. Canada's anti-money laundering regulator FINTRAC imposed an administrative monetary penalty of CAD 82,500 on the company on 5 June 2026. According to FINTRAC's findings, made during a compliance examination, the company 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, enhanced measures for high-risk situations, assessing and documenting money laundering and terrorist financing risks and the prescribed review of the compliance programme. Specifically, according to FINTRAC, 46 of 118 high-risk clients were not reviewed annually, contrary to the credit union's own policies. 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 Caisse populaire Alliance limitée", published 24 September 2026, https://fintrac-canafe.canada.ca/pen/amps/pen-2026-09-24-1-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 · Customer due diligence

Legal basis

PCMLTFA s. 9.6(1), 9.6(3); PCMLTF Regulations 156(1)(b), 156(1)(c), 156(1)(f), 156(2), 156(3), 157; Verwaltungsgeldbuße nach Teil 4.1 PCMLTFA

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Published

24 Sep 2026

Original amount 82,500 CAD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 5 Jun 2026.

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

Wendelspiess Partners AG invested almost all the money of its more than 400 clients in a barely diversified foreign fund it had set up and managed itself, which invested mainly in a Zug-based investment company and companies linked to it; it gave insufficient information about conflicts of interest and risks, carried out no suitability check and withheld relevant information from the Eidgenössische Finanzmarktaufsicht (FINMA, Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority). FINMA revoked the licence as an asset manager of the company, which is now bankrupt. Measures against individuals are not set out here. The decision is not final.

Authority / court

Eidgenössische Finanzmarktaufsicht (FINMA)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Organisational requirements

Legal basis

Verhaltenspflichten nach dem Finanzdienstleistungsgesetz (FIDLEG): Interessenkonflikte, Information, Eignungsprüfung; Auskunftspflicht gegenüber der FINMA

Action

Order

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Liability of senior managers

Measures against individuals are not set out here.

Published

3 Jun 2026

Checked against the official source on 5 Oct 2026 · Version 3 · Direct link

On 2 June 2026 the Autoriteit Financiële Markten (AFM, Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets) fined bunq B.V. 170,000 EUR because in seven cases the bank did not give a substantive reply within the statutory 15 working days to complaints from customers who had fallen victim to online fraud (November to December 2023 and April to at least August 2024). Because bunq fully or largely compensated those affected without being legally obliged to, the AFM lowered the base amount from 500,000 to 200,000 EUR; the simplified settlement brought a further 15% reduction.

Authority / court

Autoriteit Financiële Markten (AFM)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Organisational requirements

Legal basis

Art. 43a Abs. 1 i. V. m. Abs. 2 Besluit Gedragstoezicht financiële ondernemingen Wft (BGfo), Umsetzung von Art. 101 PSD2

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Mitigating circumstances

Voluntary full or largely full compensation of the customers concerned; simplified settlement (−15%).

Published

8 Jun 2026

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