The EU and US issue fresh Russia sanctions, South Africa exits the FATF grey list, and Canada levies record-breaking fine against crypto company for AML failings – plus other key updates.
Lexology PRO explores some of the most useful articles published on Lexology and externally across key areas anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF), fraud, and sanctions compliance to help businesses stay abreast of key issues.
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Anti-money laundering
On 31 October 2025, the UK Gambling Commission suspended the operating licence of VGC Leeds under the Gambling Act 2005, citing AML deficiencies. According to the regulator, a compliance assessment revealed poor governance controls and inadequate responses to AML risks.
On 31 October 2025, the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) of Peru’s Superintendence of Banking, Insurance and Pension Fund Administrators issued a warning to businesses about the rise of money laundering linked to environmental crimes, including illegal mining, logging, and wildlife trafficking. The UIF urges companies to strengthen controls and promptly report suspicious transactions.
On 30 October 2025, Singapore police froze over S$150 million (US$115 million) in assets linked to Cambodia’s Prince Holding Group and its chairman amid money-laundering and forgery investigations. The assets include six properties, bank and securities accounts, and cash, with authorities probing cross-border financial activities tied to Cambodia.
The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre issued a AU$56,340 (US$40,360) penalty to crypto company Cryptolink for delayed reporting and AML/CTF failings on 30 October 2025. The action relates to large cash transactions and weak risk assessments flagged by AUSTRAC’s Crypto Taskforce. As part of the penalty, Cryptolink must appoint third-party reviewers to validate compliance and improve controls.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) removed South Africa from its grey list on 24 October 2025 after 32 month, following reforms to AML/CTF regulations. The delisting follows an on-site FATF assessment in July 2025 which confirmed improvements to South Africa’s regulatory framework, including enhanced beneficial ownership transparency and legislative amendments. The FATF also removed Burkina Faso, Mozambique, and Nigeria from the list.
On 22 October 2025, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada levied a record-breaking C$177 million (US$126 million) fine against Xeltox Enterprises, which operates Cryptomus, for AML failings. These include failing to submit over 1,000 suspicious transaction reports and inadequate policies and risk assessments.
Fraud
On 29 October 2025, the UK Office of Communications proposed new rules that would require UK mobile providers to set volume limits on pay-as-you-go SIMs, block scam numbers and messages, and conduct stricter due diligence on senders. These changes aim to address rising mobile messaging scams, which saw 100 million suspicious messages reported in the past year. Public feedback is open until 28 January 2026, with final decisions expected in summer 2026.
Sanctions
On 24 October 2025, the US Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Colombian President Gustavo Petro and several of his close associates over their ties to cocaine production and the global drug trade. The restrictions freeze their US assets and transactions with them in a push to combat international drug trafficking.
On 23 October 2025, the EU adopted its 19th sanctions package against Russia, introducing fresh restrictions on Russia’s shadow fleet, banks, and crypto exchanges, along with a ban on Russian LNG imports into Europe starting in January 2027.
The US issued sanctions against Russia’s two largest oil companies – Rosneft and Lukoil – on 22 October 2025, citing “Russia’s lack of serious commitment to a peace process to end the war in Ukraine.” Days later, Lukoil announced plans to sell its international assets to Swiss commodities trader Guvnor Group, which were put up for sale following the US’s sanctions announcement. Chinese oil refiners are scaling back imports of Russian crude oil following the US’s sanctions, according to reports on 2 November 2025.