Category: Analysis & Opinion

Regulatory Watch News

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  Two plead guilty after clients lose £2m in fraud case

  Financial Conduct Authority

  October 14, 2026

   

  Two people who worked at financial advice firms have pleaded guilty to fraud after 4 clients lost £2m.

  Kerry Nelson, the director of Nexus Independent Financial Advisers Limited and Nexus Investment Managers Limited, and Jacqueline Stephens, the firms' business operations manager, admitted all charges brought by the FCA at Portsmouth Crown Court. They admitted defrauding clients between January 2019 and January 2023 and using false documents as part of the fraud. Nelson has also admitted a money laundering offence after money was withdrawn from the firms, which she used to fund her extravagant lifestyle.

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  U.S. Treasury Announces Record Enforcement Actions Against Bank of America

  US Department of the Treasury

  October 13, 2026

  WASHINGTON—Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced enforcement actions imposing more than $1.21 billion in penalties against Bank of America (“the Bank”), the second-largest bank in the United States, for violations of anti-money laundering and sanctions laws.  These actions include the third-largest penalty in Treasury history and the largest in the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) history.

  • The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) assessed a $1.2 billion penalty for the Bank’s failure to mitigate and report priority national security risks, including Chinese Money Laundering Networks and illicit finance along the southwest border.
  • The OCC assessed a $750 million civil money penalty for the Bank’s deficient and ineffective BSA/AML (anti-money laundering) compliance program.
  • The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced an $11.6 million settlement agreement with the Bank over apparent violations of numerous sanctions programs, including on Iran, Russia, narcotics, and global terrorism.

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  Treasury Targets Cartel del Noreste’s Horse Racing Enterprise and Expansive Criminal Network

  OFAC

  October 13, 2026

  WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned four individuals and 11 entities connected to the U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) Cartel del Noreste (CDN). Those designated include individuals and businesses involved in quarter horse racing, construction, trucking, and the oil and gas sector, highlighting the cartel’s diverse commercial footprint. CDN’s evolution from its predecessor, Los Zetas—responsible for some of the deadliest mass‑casualty attacks in Mexican history—underscores the severity of CDN’s continued threat to the United States and the region.