French court rules firm guilty of financing terrorism in Syria. Is extreme due diligence the answer?
The landmark conviction of Lafarge, a French cement manufacturer by the Paris Criminal Court is a significant case in the history of corporate conduct in conflict zones. This is the first time a corporation in France has been criminally convicted for financing terrorism linked to overseas operations. The implications for multinational firms operating in volatile […]
Is Bosnia and Herzegovina heading back to the FATF grey list?
Bosnia and Herzegovina could be re-added to the grey list this year. In February 2026, the one-year observation period imposed by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) expired. This means the country faces a credible risk of being placed under increased monitoring, known as the grey list. The concern reflects a wider pattern of unresolved […]
Is the US moving towards a risk-based approach for AML?
The US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) have proposed rules to modernise AML compliance and, crucially, allow financial institutions to adopt something like a risk-based approach. For years, the risk-based approach has been the organising principle of AML compliance. The FATF has long treated it as foundational, while the EU embedded it in […]
Are your staff betting on Polymarket? It could be a compliance disaster
Prediction markets allow users to trade on the outcome of real-world events. Instead of betting against a bookmaker, participants take positions against one another, with prices reflecting the perceived probability of an event occurring. These events range from elections and economic indicators to corporate announcements, entertainment outcomes and geopolitical developments. In practice, they operate like […]
PCP car finance redress and vulnerable customers: What firms should know
The FCA’s motor finance redress scheme marks one of the largest consumer compensation exercises in recent years, requiring firms to review historic PCP and other finance agreements at scale and deliver consistent outcomes to millions of customers. For many firms, the immediate focus is operational: identifying affected cases, assessing fairness, and paying redress within the […]
Cheating the public revenue and the Crime and Policing Bill: Increasing risk for firms
The common law offence of cheating the public revenue has long occupied an unusual place in English criminal law. It is at once archaic and highly practical, rooted in eighteenth century authority and yet routinely deployed in some of the most complex modern fraud prosecutions. The forthcoming expansion of corporate criminal liability under the Crime […]
Ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting: What can we expect from the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill?
The UK government is moving forward with plans to introduce mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting, marking a significant expansion of existing pay transparency requirements. Building on the framework established by gender pay gap reporting, these reforms are intended to provide greater insight into how different groups are represented and rewarded across the workforce, […]
March compliance news round-up
Major laws we’re tracking: UK regulatory update Some news from the Crown Dependencies. Jersey is introducing its first whistleblowing law. While not as extensive as the EU or UK, it does place new obligations on employers. The Isle of Man published its AML National Risk Assessment for 2026, outlining key money laundering risks for the […]
The 2026 changes to the Money Laundering Regulations: what firms need to know
On 25 March 2026, HM Treasury laid the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Regulations 2026 before Parliament, introducing a set of targeted changes to the UK’s AML framework. These were made (approved) on 9 June 2026, with most changes coming into force from 30 June 2026. This is not a wholesale rewrite of the […]