Anti Money Laundering News (08 Sep – 14 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:
FINTRAC Imposes CA$1.175M Penalty on Saskatchewan Casino Operator
Canada’s financial intelligence agency FINTRAC this week imposed an administrative monetary penalty of CA$1,175,000 on the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) following a compliance examination that identified multiple breaches of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act. The finding focused on failures in required recordkeeping, customer due-diligence, and transaction monitoring for a high-risk sector where large cash volumes and complex customer interactions increase vulnerability to laundering. FINTRAC’s penalty notice emphasised that casinos must maintain detailed ownership records and robust processes to identify and report suspicious activity; the regulator framed the sanction as both punitive and corrective, aimed at pushing the operator to close gaps and strengthen oversight. The action underscores how gambling and gaming remain priority sectors for AML supervision and shows FINTRAC’s continued willingness to use monetary penalties to reinforce standards where systemic gaps are found.
Enforcement Directorate Files Fresh PMLA Case Tied to ₹2,929 Cr Bank Loss
India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a fresh Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case this week connected to an alleged ₹2,929 crore loss to a public-sector bank arising from historical telecom-related transactions. The new filing expands the probe’s scope, naming corporate entities and individuals linked to the transactions, and seeks to trace alleged layering and diversion of funds through complex corporate networks. Under PMLA powers, ED can provisionally attach assets and require banks and businesses to produce records to map fund flows and beneficial ownership. The filing follows a Central Bureau of Investigation FIR and is intended to convert predicate financial fraud allegations into an offence under PMLA so laundering proceeds can be targeted directly. The case signals continued aggressive use of PMLA tools in India’s largest alleged corporate frauds and highlights the likelihood of asset attachment and legal battles over evidence and jurisdiction as the matter proceeds.
ED Attaches INR 100 Crore in Aranya Housing Project Money-Laundering Probe
The Enforcement Directorate announced provisional attachment of assets worth roughly ₹100 crore in an ongoing money-laundering investigation tied to alleged diversion of funds in the Aranya housing project. The action follows earlier probe stages that uncovered alleged misuse of homebuyer funds diverted through related parties, investments and loans. ED said searches and seizures uncovered documentary trails suggesting layering and movement of proceeds into real-estate and corporate entities. Asset attachment is a central PMLA enforcement tool that freezes suspected proceeds while criminal and civil processes continue; it aims to prevent dissipation of value pending adjudication. The attachment underscores how property and real-estate markets remain a principal conduit for layering, and it illustrates enforcement agencies’ strategy of early asset control to preserve recoverable value for victims or the state.
ANZ Fined A$240M (~US$160M) for Widespread Misconduct
Australia’s ANZ Group has admitted to several misconducts and agreed to pay a total A$240 million (~US$160 million) in penalties to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). The violations span both its institutional and retail divisions: in institutional side, ANZ is being penalised for acting unconscionably in a government bond issuance, overstating bond-trading volumes over nearly two years, and misreporting bond data. On the retail side, failures include charging fees to deceased customers, not responding adequately to hardship notices, misleading statements about savings interest rates, and not paying promised interest. ASIC has filed four separate proceedings, and ANZ has committed to a Root Cause Remediation Plan, aiming to overhaul its risk and compliance culture. The settlement, which is pending approval by the Federal Court, is the largest civil penalty ever sought by ASIC for a single entity.
FinCEN Issues Modified Geographic Targeting Order; Recordkeeping Requirements Begin Sept 10
The U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) published a modified Geographic Targeting Order (GTO) effective September 10, 2025 that imposes targeted recordkeeping and reporting requirements on certain money-services businesses (MSBs) operating along the U.S.-Mexico southwest border. The GTO aims to disrupt cross-border cash flows used to conceal proceeds of illicit activity by requiring additional identity and transactional information from covered entities, with phasing and compliance windows for affected firms. FinCEN emphasised that the order narrows but intensifies surveillance of specific geographic and product risk areas while seeking to limit burdens on legitimate businesses by tailoring compliance timing. GTOs are an administrative tool used to collect near-real-time data in priority risk corridors; this renewed order signals continued regulatory focus on geographically concentrated money-laundering vulnerabilities and provides firms an immediate compliance playbook to avoid enforcement exposure.
Swiss Parliament Approves Watered-Down AML Amendments After Pushback
Switzerland’s parliament moved to approve a scaled-back package of AML amendments this week after intense debate about competitiveness. The measures expand aspects of the Money-Laundering Act (notably extending AML rules in parts to advisers and introducing a federal beneficial-ownership register) but were materially diluted following parliamentary concerns that overly strict rules could drive wealth management clients to rival centres. The finalised bills reflect political compromise: they bring Switzerland closer to international FATF expectations while carving out exceptions and lighter obligations intended to preserve competitiveness. For compliance teams and advisers, the outcome means new registration and reporting obligations for some advisory activities, plus prospective adjustments to client onboarding and beneficial-ownership checks — though implementation timelines and secondary regulations will determine the practical compliance burden.
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- #SIGA
- #FINTRAC
- #PMLA
- #ED
- #AssetAttachment
- #ANZ
- #ASIC
- #FinCEN
- #GTO
- #Switzerland
- #AMLReform
