Deutsche Bank fined £165,000 for Russia sanctions breach, but the real lesson is not the size of the fine
OFSI has fined Deutsche Bank AG London Branch £165,000 for breaching the UK’s Russia sanctions regime after it processed two payments totalling £635,618.75 to Okko LLC, a Russian app developer wholly owned by JSC New Opportunities, a UK-designated person. The payments were made in June and July 2022 on behalf of a customer, rather than […]
Dentons v SRA: When does an AML breach become professional misconduct?
Dentons has won part of its appeal in its long-running AML dispute with the SRA, but the case is not over. The Court of Appeal’s decision in Dentons UK and Middle East LLP v Solicitors Regulation Authority Ltd [2026] EWCA Civ 508 deals with a difficult question for law firms: when does a breach of […]
Fraud is no longer a standalone crime. What does that mean for failure to prevent compliance?
INTERPOL has warned that financial fraud is now one of the world’s most serious and rapidly evolving transnational crime threats. Its latest Global Financial Fraud Threat Assessment describes a fraud landscape shaped by artificial intelligence, organised crime, scam centres, human trafficking, cybercrime and specialist money laundering networks. That matters in the UK because failure to […]
When AML controls look good on paper but fail in practice: lessons from UBS Monaco’s €6m fine
Monaco’s financial regulator has fined UBS Monaco €6 million after identifying repeated failures in the bank’s anti-money laundering controls. The penalty was issued by the Autorité Monégasque de Sécurité Financière (AMSF), Monaco’s financial security authority. According to reports on the decision, the regulator found weaknesses across customer due diligence, beneficial ownership verification, politically exposed person […]
The end of the opacity excuse? What Operation Blooming Onion means for modern slavery compliance
For years, companies have been able to say that supply chains are too complex to fully trace. Products may pass through multiple farms, processors, labour providers, contractors, subcontractors, distributors and retailers before reaching the shelf. Records may be incomplete, fragmented or held by different organisations across different jurisdictions. By the time a product reaches the […]
DOJ moves to seize Beverly Hills mansion allegedly bought with proceeds from defence contractor bribery scheme
The US Department of Justice has filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking to seize a Beverly Hills mansion allegedly purchased and renovated with around $30 million in proceeds from a scheme involving defence contracting, bribery, fraud and money laundering. According to the DOJ, the mansion was allegedly bought and improved using proceeds from a scheme […]
EUDR update: the Commission holds the line, but scope changes are coming
The EU Deforestation Regulation has entered another confusing stage. The much-anticipated simplification review was expected by the end of April 2026, and a new FAQ document briefly appeared online with important clarifications on downstream operators, re-imports, exports and the relationship between EUDR, CSDDD and the Forced Labour Regulation. But the full package, including the review […]
UK introduces new sanctions end use control to target diversion risk
The UK has introduced a new sanctions end use control, giving the government a new way to intervene where goods or related technology exported from the UK may be diverted to a sanctioned end user, intermediary or jurisdiction. The guidance was published by the Department for Business and Trade and the Office of Trade Sanctions […]
When compliance failures become criminal: What the Lafarge judgment means for business
A French court has found the cement group Lafarge guilty of financing terrorism and breaching sanctions after the company paid armed groups, including ISIS and the Nusra Front, to keep its cement plant in northern Syria operating during the civil war. The Paris court ruled that Lafarge paid a total of €5.59 million between 2013 […]