Oversight Agency | Certain Risk

“Comptroller of the Currency wall logo Washington DC 2025-02-10 13-19-10” by G. Edward Johnson, licensed under CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Changes were made.

OCC Says Nine Banks Improperly Imposed Risk Controls on ‘Controversial’ Clients

Nine of the largest U.S. lenders made “inappropriate distinctions” among customers in politically sensitive sectors, including by applying enhanced risk controls in response to negative media reports, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) said.

Black and white photograph of a young boy working a field in Darfur Sudan.

U.S. Targets Alleged Financial Network Tied to Colombian Mercenaries in Sudan

The United States has imposed sanctions on four individuals and four companies it says helped recruit, pay and deploy Colombian mercenaries to fight for Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Foreign Secretary David Lammy speaking to the press in from of a sign reading "NCA: National Crime Agency" — Image credit: “2025 07 22 Foreign Secretary David Lammy at NCA, London, with DG Rob Jones (54671721188)” by Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2025_07_22_Foreign_Secretary_David_Lammy_at_NCA,_London,_with_DG_Rob_Jones_(54671721188).jpg, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).

UK to Take on Dirty Money with AI, Facilitator Crackdown

The UK government is taking aim at corrupt bankers, lawyers, and accountants and deploying new tech tools to identify dirty money as part of a new strategy to root out tens of billions in illicit funds entering the country each year.

Ahmed al-Sharaa shaking hands with US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.

U.S. Lawmakers Weigh Lifting ‘Caesar’ Sanctions on Syria

Tough U.S. sanctions imposed on Syria under former president Bashar al-Assad are on track to be lifted within weeks, after lawmakers folded their repeal into a sweeping annual defense policy bill.

Western Union Money Transfer sign. — mage credit: Adapted from “Western Union Money Transfer – a conduit for remittances” by Richard Allaway, via Flickr, https://www.flickr.com/photos/16287002@N00/6845522191, licensed under CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/). Changes were made.

In U.S. Migrant Crackdown, a Renewed Focus on Cross-Border Remittances

The United States is tightening its oversight of the tens of billions of dollars resident and undocumented migrants send home each year through Western Union, MoneyGram, and other money services businesses (MSBs), according to a recent U.S. Treasury Department warning.

Exterior plaza of People's Bank of China — Image credit: Adapted from “People's Bank of China 20160428 092840” by David290, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:People%27s_Bank_of_China_20160428_092840.jpg, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0). Changes were made.

China Signals Crypto Crackdown, Flags Stablecoins

China’s central bank has restated its hard line on cryptocurrencies, warning that a renewed wave of speculation is testing regulators and vowing tougher action against illegal activities involving stablecoins, according to Reuters.

Men and women sitting an a wall by the ocean fishing on a sunny day. — Adapted from: Bruno Rijsman, Havana (Cuba, February 2023) – 81, 28 February 2023, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Havana_(Cuba,_February_2023)_-_81.jpg, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 (Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic). Changes were made

UN Special Rapporteur Calls for End of U.S. Sanctions on Cuba

United Nations expert is calling for the United States to lift its decades-old sanctions on Cuba, citing their corrosive impact on the country’s populace and economic future, Al Jazeera reported.

FCA to Overhaul Transaction Reporting

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched a consultation to overhaul the country’s transaction reporting regime, promising both stronger tools to combat financial crime and a lighter reporting burden for firms.

The Wirecard booth at WebSummit Lisbon. — Web Summit, “WebSummit Lisbon 2019, Pavilion 2, Day 4 – WireCard,” Flickr (photo taken November 6, 2019), https://www.flickr.com/photos/websummit/49055066212, licensed under CC BY 2.0 (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)

Fugitive Ex-Wirecard Exec Jan Marsalek Tied to Multibillion-Dollar Laundering Ring

Fugitive former Wirecard executive Jan Marsalek has been linked to a sprawling, multibillion-dollar money laundering network that British investigators say connects street-level drug dealers in the UK to sanctioned Russian oligarchs and the Kremlin’s security services, the Financial Times reported.

TD Bank branch. — Image: “TD Bank, Chinatown, DC” by Matthew Bisanz, via Wikimedia Commons (original: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TD_Bank,_Chinatown,_DC_by_Matthew_Bisanz.JPG), licensed under a Creative Commons license as specified on the original file page. Image has been edited from the original.

Chinese American Ex-Employees Sue TD Bank Over Money Laundering Fallout

A group of former Chinese American employees has filed a class-action lawsuit against Toronto-Dominion Bank in the United States, alleging they were unjustly fired after being linked to a major money laundering scandal involving Chinese money brokers and Mexican drug cartels, the Financial Post reported.