Worldwide: Money Laundering

The Corporate Transparency Act, or CTA, was Congress’s answer to a simple problem: it has long been easy to form a company in the United States without telling the government who really owns or controls it. That anonymity can help honest entrepreneurs protect privacy. It can also help criminals hide money, move funds, and avoid law enforcement.

The US Treasury Department has launched "Operation Economic Outcast," the most comprehensive economic pressure campaign ever directed at Iran, featuring expanded secondary sanctions, revoked banking access, and new sector-wide restrictions. Simultaneously, the administration has granted significant sanctions relief to Syria while tightening measures against terrorist support networks and updating Venezuela-related authorizations. These developments signal a major shift in US sanctions policy that will requi

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has issued a final rule exempting domestic companies and U.S. persons from the Corporate Transparency Act's beneficial ownership information reporting requirements, marking a significant shift after years of litigation and regulatory uncertainty. While U.S. businesses can now set aside their compliance efforts, foreign companies registered in the United States must continue reporting non-U.S. person beneficial owners, and future admi

The US Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has issued new guidance alerting financial institutions to fraud schemes involving the unlawful employment of non-work authorized individuals. The advisory identifies identity theft and payroll fraud typologies, providing 18 red flags to help banks detect suspicious activity connected to Immigration Reform and Control Act violations.

FinCEN's latest Financial Trend Analysis reveals that financial institutions flagged nearly $5 billion in suspicious activity potentially linked to human smuggling between 2023 and 2025, with money services businesses filing 97% of reports but depository institutions accounting for 61% of the total value. The analysis identifies key red flags and typologies that institutions should incorporate into their transaction-monitoring systems, including patterns involving no verifiable familial connections, unusual

The US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has finalized significant changes to beneficial ownership reporting requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act, permanently exempting US companies and US persons from disclosure obligations. Non-US entities registered to do business in the US must still report their non-US beneficial owners, while FinCEN will delete previously reported information about US persons from its database.

Louisiana has enacted House Bill 1230, replacing its Sale of Checks Act with a comprehensive money transmission licensing regime modeled after the Conference of State Bank Supervisors' Model Money Transmission Modernization Act. The new law establishes operational requirements for money transmitters, including NMLS licensing administration, financial safeguards, and authorized agent controls. Companies operating in Louisiana must navigate the transition period and prepare for new licensing processes and reg

The U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has proposed a fundamental reform to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing programs, shifting the compliance burden toward risk-based assessments...

The Federal Reserve has proposed updates to its anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism program requirements for supervised banks, largely aligning with earlier reforms proposed by FinCEN and other banking regulators. However, the Federal Reserve's proposal notably omits provisions requiring consultation with FinCEN before significant supervisory actions, raising questions about regulatory coordination and the practical implications of the new "significant or systemic" enforcement th