From policy to practice: how AML leaders in the legal sector are tackling current risks
At our latest AML Core Group session, we invited participants to submit their most pressing questions in advance. The result was a candid, practical, engaging discussion covering everything from regulatory change and onboarding challenges to culture, systems, and emerging threats. The AML Core Group sessions bring together UK legal professionals and compliance experts to discuss […]
AI Act reforms stall as EU misses deal, with August deadline looming
After more than 12 hours of negotiations in Brussels, EU lawmakers have walked away without agreement on proposed changes to the landmark AI Act. What was expected to be a technical exercise has instead unravelled into a political and regulatory standoff. It’s one that leaves businesses facing a strange reality where the clock is still […]
How a wildlife trafficking network was exposed through Madagascar’s first money laundering conviction
In a case that could reshape how environmental crime is prosecuted, Madagascar has convicted ten people with money laundering linked to wildlife trafficking. This landmark judgment was the result of coordinated international action, financial intelligence, and a shift toward a “follow-the-money” approach that exposed a sophisticated transnational criminal network trafficking endangered species. What began as […]
AML is changing. Do law firms have to?
In this quarter’s VinciWorks AML Core Group meeting, there was a perceptible shift in tone. The AML Core Group sessions bring together UK legal professionals and compliance experts to discuss the latest developments in financial crime regulation. The Core Group discussion that once largely focused on technical compliance issues became a conversation about how law […]
UK cracks down on illegal crypto trading in sweeping London raids
The FCA has moved into a new phase of crypto regulation with coordinated raids on eight illegal peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto trading hubs across London. This enforcement action represents a shift in how regulators are tackling financial crime in the digital asset ecosystem. Regulators have warned about the risks posed by unregistered crypto activity for years. […]
EU moves to rein in ChatGPT
The European Commission is currently assessing whether ChatGPT should be formally classified as a Very Large Online Search Engine (VLOSE) under the Digital Services Act (DSA). This might sound like a technical designation but it means that any general-purpose AI system will no longer be treated as just software, but as a systemically important digital […]
Is the UK’s AI law gap a relief, or a risk?
There’s an assumption that seems to be taking hold across many UK organisations that the absence of a formal AI Act reduces the immediate need to act. It’s an understandable assumption. With the AI Act, the EU introduced the world’s first comprehensive AI law. It involves strict obligations, clearly defined risk categories, and eye-watering penalties. […]
Is FCA’s CDD review a turning point for due diligence?
The FCA’s 2025 multi-firm review indicates that existing due diligence policies often, in practice, fail and due diligence processes lack the clarity and evidential rigour now expected under the money laundering regulations. The FCA notes that while firms are not unaware of their obligations, they are not translating those obligations into effective, operational controls. The […]
A defining moment for AI in law firms
AI has quickly become a daily reality in most legal practices. Across the profession, firms are using AI to draft documents, summarise materials, review contracts and support legal research. What was once seen as innovation is now embedded in routine work. That shift is exactly why the latest guidance from the Law Society of England […]