NEWS: Siblings jailed in €4.5M ‘Cash Compensation’ money laundering case 

Regulatory Watch News

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  AML Handbook Updates

  Isle of Man Financial Services Authority

  August 25, 2026

  The Isle of Man Financial Services Authority (the Authority) has made some updates to its Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Handbook (the Handbook).   Revisions include, but are not limited to:  

  • Updated guidance on De-risking.
  • Guidance added around Complex Structures
  • Guidance added around High-Net Worth Individuals
  • Additional guidance added around Source of Funds and Source of Wealth
  • Additional guidance added around ECDD
  • Additional guidance added around Commercially Exposed Persons
  • New chapter created for Sanctions Compliance guidance

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  58 arrests in global effort to dismantle West African organized crime groups

  Interpol

  August 25, 2026

  LYON, France – An eight-month operation targeting West African organized crime groups has led to 58 arrests and the identification of 263 suspects. Operation Jackal IV (November 2025 – June 2026) aimed to disrupt money laundering, identify high-value targets, seize assets, and support arrests and prosecution. The operation, which brought together 22 countries from six continents, is a response to the escalating global threat posed by West African criminal networks – such as the Black Axe and other similar groups. These groups are responsible for a significant share of the world's cyber-enabled financial fraud, typically through romance scams, cryptocurrency and investment scams or business email compromise fraud, as well as other serious and violent crimes.

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  Treasury Launches Unprecedented Campaign Against Iranian Regime on Economic D-Day

  OFAC

  August 24, 2026

  **WASHINGTON—**Today, at President Trump’s direction, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has begun Operation Economic Outcast: an unprecedented, whole-of-government, economic campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran and its enablers. “In the Second World War, D-Day marked the historic beginning of a campaign with our allies to target and drive the enemy from its positions, including those in third countries.  Today, in that same spirit, we are launching an economic onslaught against Iran’s financial connections around the globe. Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “President Trump has taken action that his predecessors have long deferred. Under his leadership, America is no longer managing the Iranian threat. We are ending it. Those who stand with the United States will reap the rewards of our partnership. Those who tether themselves to Tehran should expect to share in the isolation of a withering regime.”