Wise shares plummet as money transfer firm faces fraud investigation Fintech Shares in money transfer firm Wise have plummeted this morning as the fintech faces an investigation over allegations its accounts have been used for criminal activity. Prosecutors in Belgium opened an investigation last year after discovering Wise accounts had been flagged in hundreds of international criminal requests that spanned over 30 European countries. The transactions [...]
FCA to take control of anti-money laundering supervision of professional service firms in major reform Prof Services The government’s reform of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing supervision will significantly change and diminish the roles of the legal regulator and HMRC. Today, the Treasury revealed the outcome of its consultation on reforming anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing supervision, primarily for professional services, by creating a Single Professional Services Supervisor (SPSS), with the Financial [...]
Financial services firms dealt tens of millions in regulatory fines Banking While deregulation may be the political mood, UK watchdogs are sharpening their swords as banking giants bleed millions in regulatory fines. In under just ten days, the Financial Conduct Authority and Bank of England handed out £74.9m worth of fines to a trio of UK financial services firms. Leading the pack, and most recently, was [...]
Barclays slapped with £42m fine for financial crime failings July 16, 2025 Barclays has been hit with a £42m fine by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for separate instances where the bank failed in its financial crime risk management. The City watchdog blasted Barclays for failing to check it had gathered “sufficient information to understand the money laundering risk” before it opened a client money account for [...]
Standard Chartered slapped with $2.7bn lawsuit over fraud scandal July 1, 2025 Standard Chartered has been hit with a $2.7bn lawsuit over its alleged role in one of the world’s largest financial fraud cases, known as the 1MBD scandal. The London-headquartered lender is being accused of helping move and hide billions of dollars that were stolen from Malaysia’s 1MDB fund, by not sufficiently checking to see where [...]
Tougher anti-money laundering controls risk obstructing justice April 11, 2025 Amid calls for City law firms to apply tougher anti-money laundering controls, Ellen Gallagher argues that over-compliance risks limiting justice.
Shares in Ladbrokes owner Entain slump on money laundering investigation December 16, 2024 Entain shares fell nearly seven per cent this morning after the gambling giant was sued by Australian authorities over a failure to comply with anti-money laundering rules. The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (Austrac) said on Monday that Entain’s Australian subsidiary failed to properly identify anti-money laundering risks in its first proceedings against an [...]
FCA goes six months without registering a single crypto firm amid criticism of tough regime August 27, 2024 The City watchdog has gone six months without registering a crypto firm, amid criticism that its tough approach to regulation poses a risk to the UK's competitiveness in digital assets.