State of Play for AML, part 3: What the 2025 MLR consultation response means for UK compliance
The UK Government’s 2025 response to its consultation on the Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs), indicates that its AML regime is moving away from prescriptive, process-driven compliance towards a more targeted, proportionate and risk-based system designed to tackle the most serious vulnerabilities. This third and final instalment in our State of play for AML series continues […]
State of play for AML, part 2: Translating the UK’s AML updates into effective compliance
In Part 1 of this series, we explored the major reforms reshaping the UK’s anti-money laundering (AML) landscape, from an evolving threat picture to the government’s push for a more risk-based, intelligence-led regime. But understanding the changes is only half the battle. We focus now on the next steps UK businesses should take. With […]
State of play: What’s happening in AML now
The UK’s anti-money laundering (AML) landscape underwent another wave of significant reform in 2025. With the publication of the latest National Risk Assessment (NRA) and the government’s response to the consultation on the Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs), businesses across all regulated sectors face both new expectations and renewed scrutiny. The fourth NRA offers a […]
CJEU’s latest ruling: Why this one matters to ad-powered platforms
Yesterday the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) delivered a landmark verdict in the case of Russmedia Digital SRL and Inform Media Press vs X, fundamentally altering how online marketplaces and likely any ad-serving platform are treated under GDPR. The ruling For years, online platforms have lived in the comfortable shadow […]
The increasing legal liability of AI hallucinations: Why UK law firms face rising regulatory and litigation risk
AI is now embedded in everyday legal practice from drafting emails to generating contracts to structuring arguments. But the UK’s late-2025 case law reveals that AI hallucinations are no longer isolated mishaps. They are a growing source of judicial sanctions, reputational damage and potential criminal liability for law firms. A growing concern In […]
Complexity or clarity? Why simplifying AML rules could transform compliance
When Claude Bocqueraz stood before senior industry leaders and policymakers at the Compliance Council roundtable in the European Parliament this November, his message was clear and landed with unexpected force: Simplification is not a retreat from rigorous Anti-Money Laundering / Counter-Terrorist Financing (AML/CTF) controls. Rather, it is the key to strengthening them. Delivered as […]
When even good enough isn’t enough: What the latest SRA fine means for every law firm
Another week, another Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) enforcement notice and this one should make every law firm sit up straight. A Mayfair firm, Charles Douglas Solicitors, has been fined £24K for shortcomings in client due diligence relating to a foreign Politically Exposed Person (PEP). Over two and a half years, the firm acted for this […]
Staying compliant when your data crosses borders: Lessons from Croatia’s €4.5M GDPR fine
On November 14, 2025, Croatia’s data protection authority (AZOP) issued a striking reminder to organisations across Europe that if you transfer personal data outside the EEA, you must keep your safeguards valid, up to date and transparent. A major telecommunications operator received a €4.5GDPR fine after continuing to send customer data to Serbia without […]
How a billion-dollar laundering network exposed the limits of AML and the high stakes of sanctions compliance
What comes to mind when you think about sanctions evasion? Shadowy bankers? Offshore accounts? Covert state actors? Likely not a Friday-night drug deal in a British city. But according to the National Crime Agency (NCA), there’s a direct link there and it’s dangerous. In fact, the NCA believes that those small street-level transactions are […]
A landmark first conviction under the Bribery Act and a warning UK businesses cannot ignore
The sentencing of former Reform UK Wales leader and MEP Nathan Gill to ten and a half years in prison marks one of the most significant anti-corruption moments in modern British history. It is not simply another political scandal but the first conviction of a UK politician under the Bribery Act 2010, a law long […]