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.

Hello and welcome to episode 206 of the Financial Crime Weekly Podcast. I am Chris Kirkbride. This episode examines global financial crime, starting with sanctions evasion challenges: a report highlights 113 Russian 'shadow' vessels moving €4.7 billion in oil using false flags, then to a UK OFSI General Licence for Lukoil International Entities, while the EU considers using frozen Russian sovereign assets for Ukraine. UK enforcement updates include the FCA charging a former banker and associate in a £70,000 insider dealing case and arresting another for suspected market manipulation. HMRC also announced higher Economic Crime Levy rates from April 2026. Finally, we cover global efforts: the Council of Europe launched an anti-corruption/money laundering initiative, and INTERPOL adopted a Strategic Framework targeting transnational scam centres, though Transparency International warns UK Overseas Territories are lagging on corporate transparency reforms.

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

Hello and welcome to episode 205 of the Financial Crime Weekly Podcast. I am Chris Kirkbride. This episode covers significant global enforcement actions, including the UK updating its Cyber Sanctions List to subject Russian national Andrei Valerevich Kozlov to an asset freeze for involvement in the cybercrime ecosystem, and the US Treasury’s OFAC levying a statutory maximum $4.7 million penalty against a real estate investor for illegally dealing in property owned by a sanctioned Russian individual. We look at AML and governance failings, noting the £650,000 fine imposed on Videoslots Limited by the UK Gambling Commission for serious anti-money laundering and safer gambling deficiencies, while an IMF report highlights persistent governance weaknesses and widespread corruption vulnerabilities in Pakistan. Finally, we turn to broader crime fighting, covering the Chartered Trading Standards Institute's urgent call for funding to combat organised crime operating from "front" shops on UK high streets, and analysing Security Minister Dan Jarvis’s warning about escalating cyber threats and the need for proactive societal resilience.

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

Hello and welcome to episode 204 of the Financial Crime Weekly Podcast. I am Chris Kirkbride. This episode covers major global enforcement actions, including how the UK's NCA exposed a billion-dollar Russian money laundering network linked to a Kyrgyz bank purchase for the war effort. Concurrently, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned Iran's shadow fleet financing its military and proxies, while Europol coordinated against sophisticated Russian sanctions evasion. Domestically, the UK's PSR highlighted the success of CoP and the mandatory APP reimbursement policy. The SFO also launched its first major crypto fraud probe into the $28 million Basis Markets collapse. Finally, we look at transnational crime fighting, including a Europol operation which dismantled a Balkan art trafficking network, seizing over 3,000 antiquities valued at more than €100 million.

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

Hello and welcome to episode 203 of the Financial Crime Weekly Podcast. I am Chris Kirkbride. This episode covers major enforcement actions and global regulatory updates. Key topics include significant fraud cases, such as a former Qualcomm executive sentenced to four years for a $180m fraud and money laundering scheme, and a Miami influencer's conviction for fraudulently obtaining over $600,000 in COVID relief loans. We examine UK integrity challenges, with GRECO criticising the government over sanctions for post-employment rule breaches and lack of transparency regarding lobbyists' contact with special advisers, alongside the JMLSG's AML guidance consultation. Global market abuse is in focus, with charges against eight foreign nationals in a multi-million-dollar global insider trading network. Finally, we analyse devastating cybercrime events: Jaguar Land Rover's reported £485 million loss following a major cyber-attack which halted production, Europol tracing €47 million in crypto to disrupt digital piracy, and allegations of Chinese state-sponsored hackers using Anthropic’s AI chatbot for cyber espionage.

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