Regulatory Watch News

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  FinCEN Assesses Historic $125 Million Penalty Against UBS Financial Services Inc. for Recidivist BSA Violations

  August 3, 2026

  WASHINGTON—Today, the Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) assessed a $125,000,000 civil money penalty against UBS Financial Services Inc. (UBSFS) for willful violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), the primary U.S. anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism law that safeguards the financial system from illicit use. This is the largest penalty ever imposed against a broker-dealer for BSA violations to date. “Today’s historic action against UBSFS should send a clear message that recidivist financial institutions will face severe repercussions,” said FinCEN Director Andrea Gacki. “Repeat violators of the Bank Secrecy Act jeopardize the integrity of our financial system, especially those that expose it to high-risk customers and activities without effective controls.”

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  World Day Against Trafficking in Persons

  July 30, 2026

  Across the world, transnational organized crime groups are trafficking and exploiting thousands of people and forcing them to take part in industrial-scale financial fraud operations. This is a growing form of trafficking in persons for forced criminality, closely intertwined with cybercrime, financial fraud, money-laundering and corruption. In East and South-East Asia, UNODC estimates between US $18 billion and $37 billion financial losses from scams targeting victims in 2023 alone, with a high proportion of these losses attributes to scams committed by organized crime groups located in the region.

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  850 years in jail for criminals and £70m-worth of drugs seized by specialist Merseyside team

  National Crime Agency

  July 30, 2026

  More than 100 criminals linked to drug and gun crime in Merseyside have been jailed as a result of investigations by a specialist team formed in 2021. One-hundred-and-eight criminals are serving 851 years in prison for crimes including importing drugs, supplying guns and laundering money linked to serious and organised crime. Officers from Merseyside Organised Crime Partnership (OCP) have seized cocaine, heroin, cannabis and ketamine worth up to £70m.