Anti Money Laundering News (01 Sep – 07 Sep 2025)
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Global AML News Weekly Digest. Here are the top stories making headlines around the world:
UK Treasury Unveils Draft to Tighten AML Rules for Virtual Asset Firms
The UK Treasury has issued a draft aimed at bolstering anti-money laundering (AML) rules for virtual asset (crypto) firms. The move marks a significant push to modernize the regulatory framework and better align the crypto sector with mainstream financial standards.
This draft place a stronger compliance burden on virtual asset operators, signaling that the government is closing existing oversight loopholes and aiming to address emerging financial crime trends. It underscores a broader shift: crypto firms must now operate under more rigorous scrutiny, raising expectations around transparency, accountability, and risk management.
Public consultation is now open, giving industry participants and stakeholders a meaningful opportunity to shape the final version of the regulations. This collaborative approach reflects the government’s intent to balance innovation in digital assets with safeguarding financial integrity.
The final regulations resulting from this draft are expected to have substantial implications for how crypto businesses are governed, regulated, and held accountable in the UK—setting a precedent for how digital asset oversight evolves in the years ahead.
Revolut Australia Hit with A$187,800 Penalty for Late AML Reporting
Australia’s financial crime regulator, AUSTRAC, has issued a penalty of A$187,800 (approximately US$123,000) to Revolut’s Australian unit for delayed submission of required international funds transfer reports under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) Act. Revolut self-reported the compliance failure, cooperated fully, and paid the infringement notice in full.
AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas emphasized that even self-disclosed reporting failures carry consequences, highlighting that timely compliance is crucial to “disrupt financial crime – to strike while the iron is hot.” Remittance providers, such as Revolut, are particularly vulnerable to exploitation due to the speed and cross-border nature of their services.
Revolut’s Australian business operates primarily as a remittance service provider and launched its Melbourne office in 2019. The unit had previously expressed interest in pursuing a banking licence, but no updates on this have emerged.
AUSTRAC has reinforced its oversight of payment platforms in its 2024 regulatory agenda, viewing them as a consistently high-risk sector. Earlier in the year, the agency took enforcement action against 13 remittance or digital currency providers and has ongoing investigations into more than 50 others.
OKX Fined €2.25M by Dutch Regulator for Operating Without Registration
Crypto exchange OKX has been penalized €2.25 million (around US$2.6 million) by the Dutch central bank (DNB) for offering services in the Netherlands without proper registration during the period from July 2023 through August 2024. This violation breached Dutch anti-money laundering rules that have required crypto firms to register since 2020.
This enforcement action against OKX follows similar penalties levied on other major crypto platforms: Crypto.com was fined €2.85 million and Kraken €4 million for comparable unregistered operations. With the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation now active across the EU, this represents part of a broader wave of tightening oversight—highlighting that operating first and registering later is no longer tolerated.
OKX has characterised the infringement as a “legacy matter,” confirming that it has been resolved. The firm migrated its Dutch users to its MiCA-licensed European entity, Okcoin Europe, and emphasized that the fine did not affect customers. Notably, it’s reportedly the lowest fine the DNB has issued to a major exchange, reflecting OKX’s full cooperation and corrective measures.
PNF Imposes €26.6 Million Fine on Security Tech Firm Over Alleged Corruption in Ukraine
Surys, formerly Hologram Industries, has been fined €26.6 million (approximately US$26.6 million) by France’s Parquet National Financier (PNF). The penalty stems from accusations that the company facilitated a Ukrainian public official in embezzling millions from the state-owned passport authority via an intermediary based in Estonia. Surys is alleged to have played a material role in enabling the misappropriation of funds, though the specifics of its involvement (whether knowingly or unwittingly) have yet to be clarified. This significant fine reflects France’s growing dedication to cross-border anti-corruption enforcement and reinforces corporate liability under French anti-corruption legislation.
TD Hits Major Milestone in Rebuilding Anti-Money Laundering Program
TD reported a net income of US $3.3 billion for the quarter ending July 31, a striking recovery compared to a US $181 million loss during the same period last year—highlighting the impact of its ongoing AML remediation efforts.
This financial turnaround underscores the effectiveness of TD’s strategic focus on repairing deficiencies in its anti-money laundering systems—a priority area following regulatory interventions. While full article details were unavailable, the sharp swing back to profitability is a clear indicator that these efforts are translating into operational stability and financial strength.
Alipay Europe Fined €214,000 by Luxembourg Regulator for AML Failings
Chinese payment platform Alipay (Europe) Limited S.A. was fined €214,000 by Luxembourg’s financial regulator, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), following an on-site inspection conducted between June 2023 and January 2024. The CSSF determined that Alipay committed significant anti-money laundering (AML) breaches, including failures in transaction monitoring, slow processing of alerts, inadequate customer identification—especially in non-face-to-face interactions—and insufficient oversight of outsourced compliance functions. In six cases involving suspected counterfeit goods, Alipay failed to file suspicious transaction reports; in three of these cases, accounts were closed without notifying the Financial Intelligence Unit. Regulators noted that delayed alert processing “undermined” Alipay’s ability to appropriately respond to potential money-laundering or terrorist financing threats, and described the internal safeguards as “too generic.” The CSSF stated that Alipay has since implemented corrective measures, but emphasized the seriousness of the deficiencies found.
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- #AML
- #Compliance
- #FinCrime
- #Crypto
- #Regulation
- #Sanctions
- #Revolut
- #OKX
- #Alipay
- #Surys
- #TDBank
- #Fintech
- #Banking
- #AI
- #FinancialCrime
