Have Yourself a Merry Little Crime Recap

’Twas the year of red flags, fines, and frantic compliance teams…

NAUGHTY LIST:

1. Coinbase Gets a €21.5M Christmas Surprise

Coinbase Europe ended the year with a regulator-sized lump of coal after failing to monitor 30+ million transactions. When 31% of your trades aren’t screened properly, regulators tend to notice and they absolutely did. “Transaction monitoring is optional” is no longer a viable business strategy.

2. Global AML Fines Hit US$1.23 Billion - The Biggest Spike in Years

Regulators handed out fines like Oprah hands out cars. Everyone got one.

 Banks, payments companies, fintechs , all receiving festive reminders that AML controls aren’t “nice-to-haves.”

2025 was basically: “You get a fine! You get a fine! Everyone gets a fine!”

3. Cryptomixer.io Shut Down - Europol Says ‘No More Dirty Santa Money’

Authorities seized servers, €25M in Bitcoin, and 12TB of data from one of the world’s largest crypto-mixing operations.

A huge win for law enforcement, and a devastating blow for anyone laundering money with the enthusiasm of a child shaking presents under the tree.

4. UBS Charged Over the Tuna Bonds Scandal - The Compliance Ghost of Christmas Past

The decades-old Mozambique scandal resurfaced with Swiss prosecutors charging UBS (as Credit Suisse’s successor). Billions misappropriated, suspicious transactions ignored, and one very uncomfortable compliance officer.

Moral: Your controls might age, but your breaches never do.

NICE LIST

1. Global Trafficking Networks Disrupted

Major cross-border CEM and trafficking payment channels were dismantled, thanks to smarter analytics and better FIU collaboration.

2. AI Used to Catch the Fraudsters (Not Just Power Them)

Machine-learning tools detected mule networks before they scaled, giving compliance teams an actual fighting chance.

3. Stronger Sanctions Enforcement

Several high-profile evasion schemes were shut down - proving sanctions monitoring isn’t just paperwork, it’s national security.

4. More Industries Adopting Risk-Based AML Models

Law, accounting, and property sectors finally started moving from “wait and see” to “plan and prepare.”

5. Australia’s AML Reform Momentum Stayed Strong

Tranche 2 didn’t just make news - it made professionals read legislation voluntarily, which might be the biggest miracle of all.

“Before You Clock Off for Christmas” AML Checklist

✔ Update your Risk Assessments

(You know they haven’t been touched since March.)

✔ Review onboarding workflows

Make sure your 2026 Tranche 2 clients won’t break your systems in January.

✔ Confirm reporting obligations

No last-minute SMR surprises, they ruin holidays.

✔ Check your outsourcing gaps

Especially if roles will be vacant over Christmas.

✔ Plan for January surge

Because financial crime spikes when everyone’s back and broke.

✔ Book training refreshers

New year, new staff, same red flags.