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