This Financial Crime Weekly Special Episode examines the seismic regulatory and enforcement shifts that reshaped the crypto landscape in 2025. From the EU’s “Fortress Europe” under MiCA and the UK’s aggressive Financial Promotions regime, to U.S. legislative clarity on stablecoins and digital commodities, the episode highlights how the era of regulatory liminality has ended. With case studies ranging from prosecutions tied to human trafficking and elder abuse to the technical blind spots of chain‑hopping and DeFi “mathematical mixers,” the discussion captures both the moral and operational stakes. Looking ahead, it explores how automation and AI‑driven compliance will define survival in 2026.

This Financial Crime Weekly Special Episode looks ahead to 2026, a year defined by localisation and divergence in global financial crime regulation. From the EU’s AMLA rollout and the US Corporate Transparency Act compliance cliff, to the UK’s aggressive enforcement of the new “Failure to Prevent Fraud” offence, the episode explores how jurisdictions are reshaping rules to meet domestic priorities. With insights into sanctions reform, fraud liability shifts, capital markets changes, and the operational resilience demands of DORA, the UK’s Critical Third Parties regime, and the EU AI Act, this horizon scan highlights the strategic risks and compliance imperatives that will shape the year ahead.

In this Financial Crime Weekly Review episode, we take stock of the key developments which shaped 2025 across enforcement, regulation, and corporate accountability. From landmark legislative changes and headline cases to evolving trends in cryptoassets, ESG‑related financial crime, and sanctions, the episode distills a year of complex activity into clear insights. With a focus on practical impact and strategic foresight, it offers listeners a concise yet comprehensive overview of the themes that will define compliance and risk management moving into 2026.

This special edition of the Financial Crime Weekly Podcast unpacks the landmark “Failure to Prevent Fraud” offence introduced under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. Effective from 1 September 2025, the law reshapes corporate accountability by imposing strict liability on large organisations when associated parties commit fraud intended to benefit them. The episode explores why the reform was needed, the elements of the offence, its jurisdictional reach, penalties, and the statutory defence of “reasonable prevention procedures.” With practical insights into compliance expectations and cultural change, it’s an essential listen for anyone navigating the new era of corporate fraud prevention.

Welcome to episode 212 of the Financial Crime Weekly Podcast with Chris Kirkbride. This week, we cover key global sanctions, including U.S. penalties for Iran violations and actions against fuel theft cartels and terrorist groups. In the UK, new Russia and Syria sanctions are announced, with Roman Abramovich given a final deadline over Chelsea sale funds. On fraud and money laundering, the response to the Tricolor Auto Group collapse, Bendigo Bank faces regulatory action, and Axiom's David Kennedy receives a confiscation order. Integrity issues include insider trading convictions and the OECD urging Colombia to reform its foreign bribery laws.

A transcript of this podcast, with links to the stories, will be available at www.crimes.financial.

Hello and welcome to episode 211 of the Financial Crime Weekly Podcast. I am Chris Kirkbride. In this episode, the US seizes a crude oil tanker linked to an oil shipping network supporting Hizballah and Iran’s IRGC-Qods Force, while the EU Council sanctioned nine shadow fleet enablers and twelve individuals and two entities involved in hybrid threats, cyberattacks, and foreign information manipulation against Ukraine and NATO allies. We also reflect on geopolitical shifts, as the US Treasury lifted Global Magnitsky sanctions against Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes following political negotiations, and the UK designated four Sudanese RSF commanders for grave humanitarian law violations in Darfur. On other financial crime threats, the conviction of three City fund managers in a £11.4 million fraud targeting Libya’s sovereign wealth fund, the FATF flagging serious effectiveness weaknesses in Belgium’s fight against money laundering, and the US Treasury warning consumers about a surge in AI-enabled cyber scams during the holiday season. Finally, we look at regulatory action, as the UK's FCA launched a consultation to bring a market abuse regime and disclosure requirements to cryptoassets, and the ICO fined LastPass £1.2 million for a 2022 data breach impacting 1.6 million UK users.

A transcript of this podcast, with links to the stories, will be available at www.crimes.financial.

Hello and welcome to episode 210 of the Financial Crime Weekly Podcast. I am Chris Kirkbride. In this episode, on sanctions, the UK has sanctioned two China-based technology companies for conducting reckless cyberattacks, while the US Treasury imposed sanctions on shipping firms and insiders linked to the Maduro regime. We also cover critical anti-money laundering failures, highlighted by the FCA fining Nationwide Building Society £44.1m for pervasive weaknesses in its anti-financial crime controls between 2016 and 2021, and the FATF finding Malaysia weak on converting money laundering investigations into prosecutions. Furthermore, there are warnings from the UNODC that organised crime is heavily exploiting the mining sector across Latin America and the Caribbean, and look ahead to the global anti-corruption push at the UN's COSP11 conference.

A transcript of this podcast, with links to the stories, will be available at www.crimes.financial.

Hello and welcome to episode 209 of the Financial Crime Weekly Podcast. I am Chris Kirkbride. In this episode, the UK has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia's GRU following the conclusion of the Salisbury poisoning inquiry, and implements dual sanctions targeting both malicious cyber actors and entities destabilising Ukraine. Australia has launched a world-first autonomous sanctions framework against key Taliban leaders, while the US Treasury sanctioned a transnational network primarily composed of Colombian nationals for recruiting fighters for Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces. On corruption, in the UK, the government unveiled its comprehensive Anti-Corruption Strategy 2025, and world anti-corruption day has been marked by a range of global agencies. Fraud concerns were highlighted by the US recovering nearly $1.7 million in cryptocurrency stolen through a sophisticated investment scam, and a UK report reveals that taxpayers lost £10.9 billion to Covid support scheme fraud and error. Finally, regulatory enforcement targeted the financial sector, as FinCEN imposed a $3.5 million penalty on Paxful for wilfully violating the Bank Secrecy Act.

A transcript of this podcast, with links to the stories, will be available at www.crimes.financial.

Hello and welcome to episode 208 of the Financial Crime Weekly Podcast. I am Chris Kirkbride. In this episode, we begin with significant global enforcement actions, including the landmark agreement by the EU to phase out Russian gas imports by the end of 2027, and the UK’s expansion of sanctions with 12 new designations targeting individuals and entities under its Cyber and Russia regimes, alongside new counter-terrorism designations. In the US, the Treasury’s OFAC imposed a substantial $7.1m penalty on Gracetown Inc for violating Russia-related sanctions involving an entity owned by sanctioned oligarch Oleg Deripaska, and sanctioned a Venezuelan entertainer and associates for supporting the terrorist cartel Tren de Aragua. We also look at major crime fighting successes, such as Europol and Eurojust dismantling a massive cryptocurrency fraud network responsible for laundering over €700 million, and the EU formally designating Russia as a high-risk jurisdiction for money laundering and terrorist financing. Finally, on domestic issues, the UK Gambling Commission fining Done Brothers £825,000 for serious anti-money laundering and social responsibility failings, and the launch of the new Report Fraud service by the City of London Police to replace Action Fraud.

A transcript of this podcast, with links to the stories, will be available at www.crimes.financial.

Hello and welcome to episode 207 of the Financial Crime Weekly Podcast. I am Chris Kirkbride. This episode covers a range of critical global financial crime developments, beginning with sanctions, where the UK government published statutory guidance detailing when trade licences under Russia sanctions may be granted, such as for humanitarian assistance or critical energy supply, while the US Treasury settled an $11.5 million sanctions case with IPI Partners for maintaining investments with sanctioned Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov. We also cover significant fraud and money laundering cases, including the European Public Prosecutor’s Office uncovering a €40 million EU subsidy fraud scheme in Italy involving fictitious training courses, and the UK’s Serious Fraud Office securing a conviction against the director of AOG Technics for selling aircraft engine parts with forged documentation. Additionally, we analyse integrity reforms, as the Council of Europe's GRECO confirmed the UK has made substantial progress in anti-corruption reforms within government and law enforcement, but still needs fully to implement sanctions for post-employment breaches and enhance lobbying transparency. We conclude with cybercrime, highlighting the NCSC’s launch of its free Cyber Action Toolkit to help small businesses combat rising threats.

A transcript of this podcast, with links to the stories, will be available at www.crimes.financial.