MSBs | Certain Risk

A photograph of a Hezbollah flag flying between two missiles.

U.S. Blacklists Network Accused of Diverting Over $100 Million to Hezbollah

The U.S. Treasury Department said on Friday it had imposed sanctions on an international network of 16 people and companies that allegedly diverted more than $100 million to Hezbollah since 2020.

A photo of a young woman in Mexico city seated outside and looking at her cell phone.

Cash Is No Longer King of U.S.-Mexico Remittances

Digital money transfers have overtaken cash for the first time in the U.S.-to-Mexico remittance corridor, marking a shift in the world’s largest flow of cross-border family payments and intensifying pressure on traditional cash-based providers.

A view of a road in Bernalillo County, New Mexico where cars drive while the mountains at dawn loom in the background — “US Route 550 with Sandia Mountains” by formulanone, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Route_550_with_Sandia_Mountains_(32133362550).jpg), licensed under Creative Commons Attribution–ShareAlike 2.0 (CC BY-SA 2.0); image cropped/edited for publication.

FinCEN Expands Southwest-Border Geographic Targeting Order

FinCEN said Tuesday it has expanded a geographic targeting order (GTO) along the Southwest border, extending the measure into New Mexico for the first time and adding Maricopa and Pima counties in Arizona.

DOJ building entrance, Washington, DC — G. Edward Johnson, “DOJ entrance Washington DC 2025-02-07 13-27-05.jpg” (7 Feb 2025), Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Edited from the original (changes made).

DOJ Outlines Path to Non-Prosecution for Corporate Crimes

The Justice Department released its first department-wide corporate enforcement policy for criminal matters, establishing a uniform framework for how prosecutors handle corporate cases across the department, except antitrust matters.

A photo from the Epstein files showing Jeffrey Epstein wearing a party cone hat that's askew while he sits at a table in robe looking off camera.

Pill-Popping and Pimping: Why Epstein & Friends Were the Subject of 40 SARs

The DEA opened a secret investigation into Jeffrey Epstein in 2015 on suspicions of money laundering, drug trafficking, and running a prostitution ring that procured Eastern European women for high-profile clients.

A postcard showing a Flock of coral flamingos at Hialeah Park, Miami, Florida — “Flock of coral flamingos at Hialeah Park, Miami, Florida” — Boston Public Library, licensed under CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/). Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_public_library/8006278672 (edited/modified).

Florida Officials Put Sanctions Pressure on Businesses with Cuban Ties

South Florida Republican officials are pressing for tougher scrutiny of businesses that send goods or provide services linked to Cuba, the Miami Herald reported.

U.S. Oversight of MSBs is Weakest in Years as Crypto Usage Surges

Cryptocurrency usage is surging in the United States. You wouldn’t know that from the number of federal examiners tasked with supervising the industry for anti-money-laundering (AML) compliance though.

Paxful to Pay $4 Million for Helping Sex Traffickers and Money Launderers

Paxful Holdings Inc., a peer-to-peer virtual currency trading platform, was sentenced on Tuesday to pay a $4-million criminal penalty after pleading guilty to conspiracies tied to illegal prostitution, anti-money-laundering failures and transmitting criminal proceeds.

“Senator Amy Klobuchar speaking to journalists at the Heartland Forum in Storm Lake, Iowa” (uploaded March 31, 2019) by Lorie Shaull — used under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 (CC BY 2.0). This image has been modified (edited from the original).

Bill Would Take on Criminals Seeking to Circumvent AML Laws

Two U.S. senators reintroduced a bipartisan bill that would subject informal-value transfers and blank checks to anti-financial crime laws and strengthen the hand of prosecutors pursuing money-laundering charges.

EU’s New AML Supervisor Set for Full Launch in 2028

The European Union’s new Anti-Money Laundering Authority said it is on track to become fully operational in 2028, setting out a multi-year plan that flags emerging illicit-finance threats ranging from crypto-assets to “novel payment channels.”