Hello, and welcome to episode 117 of the Financial Crime Weekly Podcast, I’m Chris Kirkbride. On sanctions this week, designations from the US, and extension of existing sanctions from the EU. On bribery and corruption, the UK Anti-Corruption Coalition has published its post-election agenda, urging the new Labour government to take action across a range of areas. On money laundering, the Financial Conduct Authority has PEPs and their treatment by financial institutions in its sights. There is also a round-up of the cyber-attack news this week.

As usual, I have linked the main stories flagged in the podcast in the description. These are:

Council of the European Union, Extremist Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as violent activists, blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza: five individuals and three entities sanctioned under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime.

Council of the European Union, Iran: Council prolongs EU restrictive measures in view of Iran’s military support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and for armed groups and entities in the Middle East and the Red Sea region.

Financial Conduct Authority, FCA calls on firms to improve treatment of politically exposed persons (PEPs).

Financial Conduct Authority, Review: The treatment of politically exposed persons.

Financial Conduct Authority, GC24/4: Proposed amendments to Guidance on the treatment of politically exposed persons.

Financial Conduct Authority, Court sets dates for ‘finfluencer’ trials.

Financial Conduct Authority, Three charged over CFD trading pension fraud.

National Cyber Security Centre, Cyber Essentials 'Pathways': From experiment to proof of concept.

Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Guidance: UK Financial Sanctions FAQs.

Office of Foreign Assets Control, Treasury Maintains Pressure on Houthi Illicit Shipping and Finance Schemes.

Royal United Services Institute, Sanctions and the Next Financial Crisis.

UK Anti-Corruption Coalition, Time to ramp up the fight against corruption.

UK House of Commons Library, Sanctions against countries supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

US Department of Justice, Two Foreign Nationals Plead Guilty to Participating in LockBit Ransomware Group.

US Department of State, United States Imposes Sanctions Targeting Iran’s Chemical Weapons Research and Development.

US Department of the Treasury, Treasury and the Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council Publish New Resources on Effective Practices for Secure Cloud Adoption.