South Korea's Cabinet approved regulations removing the 1 million won ($700) minimum threshold for crypto Travel Rule compliance, requiring information sharing for all virtual asset transfers between registered service providers regardless of amount. The revision also mandates disclosure of major shareholder information for VASP registration applicants.
Australia's financial crimes regulator AUSTRAC suspended crypto ATM operator Cryptolink Pty Ltd's registration for three months starting August 9, 2026, forcing the shutdown of the country's largest network of 96 crypto ATMs due to failures in basic reporting obligations, particularly threshold transaction reporting requirements.
World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency company co-founded by President Trump's sons and associates, received a $100 million investment from Chinese businessman Guren 'Bobby' Zhou, who was arrested in Britain in 2021 for money laundering. Up to $75 million from the investment reportedly went to Trump and his sons.
Following $3.4 billion in crypto thefts in 2025 and over $1 billion stolen in the first half of 2026, investigators reveal hackers have approximately 45 days to launder stolen assets before trails go cold. The Bybit exchange has recovered $48.4 million after suing North Korea's Lazarus Group, with a US court freezing $30.5 million in related assets.
Brazil's central bank announced new anti-fraud regulations requiring cryptocurrency transfers above $10,000 (approximately R$51,000) to be delayed by up to 24 hours for additional security analysis. The rules take effect January 1, 2027.
The Treasury Department sanctioned two Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges, Shelbit and Aban Tether, for facilitating transactions for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. TRM Labs reports Shelbit handled over $6.3 billion in transactions between May 2024 and March 2026.
The United States Treasury Department sanctioned two Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchanges, Shelbit and Aban Tether, alleging they processed billions of dollars in transactions for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and facilitated sanctions evasion. The action is part of the Trump administration's 'Economic Fury' campaign targeting Iranian financial networks.
Russia's Federal Security Service raided nine unregistered cryptocurrency exchange offices in Moscow City, detaining more than 20 people accused of laundering money stolen from Russian scam victims and transferring proceeds to Ukraine-based operations.
Bill 8722 grants Luxembourg's Financial Intelligence Unit new powers to issue fraud alerts covering cryptocurrency exchanges, expanding regulatory oversight in the digital asset sector.
Bill 8722 grants Luxembourg's Financial Intelligence Unit new powers to issue fraud alerts covering cryptocurrency exchanges, expanding regulatory oversight in the digital asset sector.
Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission proposed draft amendments on August 4, 2026, requiring all domestic crypto platforms to share customer information on platform-to-platform transfers, with implementation scheduled for October 2026.
South Korea's Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced plans to create a dedicated Virtual Asset Joint Investigation Division within the Seoul Serious Crime Investigation Agency (Jungdaebeomjoe Susacheong), set to launch October 2. The new agency will focus on seven major crime categories including corruption, economic crimes, defense procurement, narcotics, insurrection, cybercrime, and judicial obstruction.
Hackers illegally accessed Liechtenstein's Register of Beneficial Economic Owners during the night of July 29-30, 2026, stealing data on approximately 31,000 companies and foundations. The government has established a crisis cell to investigate the breach of the register, which was created in April 2021 to combat money laundering and financial crime.
South Africa's National Treasury and Reserve Bank published draft guidelines on August 3, 2026, establishing the country's first comprehensive regulatory framework that defines when cross-border cryptocurrency movements become reportable events under financial regulations.
Switzerland's SRO (Self-Regulatory Organization) system, which allows crypto firms to join private supervisory bodies for anti-money laundering compliance, is being highlighted as a model for enabling faster market entry while maintaining regulatory oversight.
Capital One Financial disclosed in a court filing that it closed over 300 Trump Organization-affiliated bank accounts in 2021 following an anti-money laundering review, marking the first time a bank has formally tied money-laundering concerns to the Trump family business. The disclosure came in response to a lawsuit filed by the Trump Organization claiming the closures were politically motivated.
Dubai-based crypto exchange Shelbit processed over $4 billion since May 2024 through a network tied to Iranian gambling sites, the central bank, and the IRGC, according to Reuters investigations. At least $676 million was sent to Binance.
A Reuters investigation revealed that Shelbit, an unlicensed Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange, processed at least $4 billion for an Iranian sanctions-evasion network linked to the IRGC, Iran's central bank, and illegal gambling operations. At least $676 million from wallets connected to this network flowed to Binance.
The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on two Iranian maritime companies allegedly part of an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-backed insurance network, with one firm accepting Bitcoin and other digital assets as payment.
The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two Iranian maritime firms, including Hormuz Safe, for operating an IRGC-backed scheme that allegedly extorted commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz by requiring Bitcoin payments for insurance.
The European Union approved its 21st package of sanctions against Russia on July 23, 2026, imposing transaction bans on 14 cryptocurrency platforms and operators accused of helping Russia evade sanctions, including entities tied to the A7 Network. The package also targets 48 individuals and 170 organizations across energy, financial services, and shipping sectors.
Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, announced a partnership with global non-profit STOP THE TRAFFIK on July 23, 2026, to detect and investigate cryptocurrency activity linked to human trafficking and child exploitation through intelligence sharing, training, and investigative support.
Ripple has made an undisclosed strategic investment in Notabene, which describes itself as the operator of the world's largest open network for regulated on-chain transactions. The companies plan to integrate RLUSD into Notabene Flow and explore how Notabene's payment authorization capabilities could complement Ripple Payments. According to Notabene, its broader compliance and authorization network facilitates more than $2 trillion in annualized transaction volume.
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed five civil forfeiture lawsuits seeking to seize more than $25 million in cryptocurrency recovered from investigations into international fraud schemes, including fake investment platforms and romance scams that targeted victims in the United States and Canada.
Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has set up a specialized cryptocurrency investigation unit within its National Command and Control Centre to investigate money laundering, terrorism financing, and other crimes involving digital assets. Officials said the unit will monitor suspicious crypto transactions and investigate crypto-linked cybercrime and financial fraud, while the FIA's counter-terrorism chief separately recommended that the cybercrime and anti-narcotics agencies establish similar units to address cybercrime and drug trafficking.
Federal Judge Marcelo Martínez De Giorgi froze dozens of crypto wallets tied to the LIBRA investigation and ordered six international exchanges including Binance, Bybit, and OKX to hand over complete client files after the token's crash.
A Taiwanese court has sentenced Shi Qiren, the founder of the BitShine cryptocurrency exchange, to 22 years in prison for orchestrating a fraud and money laundering operation that caused losses exceeding NT$1.27 billion (approximately $39 million). The sentence represents one of the harshest penalties in Taiwan's crypto enforcement history.
The United States Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned multiple cryptocurrency wallets tied to the Central Bank of Iran, freezing more than $130 million in digital assets. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the action as part of ongoing efforts to disrupt Iran's sanctions evasion activities.
Members of the European Parliament are pressing AMLA Chair Bruna Szego to explain her plans for supervising crypto asset service providers (CASPs) as Europe's new anti-money laundering authority faces challenges implementing unified oversight across sectors including cryptocurrency, real estate, and luxury goods.
An opinion article in China's Supreme People's Procuratorate newspaper outlined a framework for prosecuting crypto money laundering, including presuming criminal intent when mixers or privacy coins are used.
Iraqi authorities have confiscated 375 kilograms of gold and 69 billion dinars in assets as part of a sweeping anti-corruption investigation targeting former deputy oil minister and other officials. The Kurdistan Regional Government cooperated by handing over 358 kilograms of confiscated gold to federal authorities.
A four-month INTERPOL operation spanning 97 countries resulted in 5,811 arrests and the seizure of $293 million in illicit assets. Thai police arrested two suspects linked to a romance scam network, with one 20-year-old's cryptocurrency wallet processing over $122.5 million in suspicious transactions.
A Chinese organization suspected of illegally exporting fentanyl precursor chemicals was linked to a large-scale cryptocurrency fraud operation through a base in Japan, involving a fake 'Zksync.jp' token, according to a Nikkei investigation.
India's Enforcement Directorate conducted raids on six Bengaluru-based crypto on-ramp/off-ramp firms, investigating alleged unauthorized cross-border money transfers totaling approximately ₹2,500 crore ($300 million).
Federal prosecutors charged two Eastern European nationals with running AudiA6, a cryptocurrency mixing service that allegedly laundered nearly $400 million in Bitcoin since 2021. The pair were arrested in Georgia following international investigations involving the US, Europol, and 10 other countries.
Geoffrey K. Auyeung, 47, of Newcastle, Washington, was sentenced to five years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering after helping launder nearly $100 million from a fraud scheme through Bitcoin and Ethereum. Victims believed they were investing in oil and gas ventures.
Crypto venture firm Paradigm and DeFi advocacy group Hyperliquid Policy Center jointly submitted a letter to U.S. Treasury urging FinCEN and OFAC to narrow proposed anti-money laundering compliance rules for stablecoins, warning that overly broad obligations could negatively impact decentralized finance protocols.
The UK's Financial Conduct Authority issued warnings to Premier League football clubs about sponsorship deals with unauthorized crypto firms, citing potential money laundering risks and legal liability ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Britain's Financial Conduct Authority warned Premier League clubs against sponsorship deals with unauthorized crypto firms, citing legal liability and money laundering risks, while mining pool F2Pool separately issued a public warning denying partnerships with hashrate token projects.
The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control designated four Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges—Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex—for sanctions violations and terrorist financing. Nobitex handled approximately 50% of Iran's crypto inflows in 2025, and four Iranian nationals including chairman Amir Hossein Rad were also named in the action.
The U.S. Senate Banking Committee voted on May 14, 2026 to advance the Clarity Act, a comprehensive cryptocurrency regulation bill, marking the first major legislative progress for the crypto industry. The approval came despite minority staff releasing a national security advisory warning the bill fails to address vulnerabilities exploited by criminals and foreign adversaries.
The US Treasury sanctioned 12 entities for facilitating Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps oil sales to China, warning of potential secondary sanctions on foreign financial institutions, including those connected to China's independent oil refineries.
The U.S. Treasury Department is pressuring Binance to implement stricter compliance measures following reports that over $1 billion in cryptocurrency transactions tied to Iranian entities moved through the exchange despite sanctions.
Financial services technology company FIS partnered with Anthropic to launch an AI agent targeting the $40 billion anti-money laundering problem, focusing on Bank Secrecy Act compliance and suspicious activity reporting.
Reuters found that Nobitex, Iran's leading crypto exchange, was founded by sons of an elite political family tied to Iran's supreme leaders, with hundreds of millions in transactions linked to sanctioned Iranian state entities moving through the platform since 2018.
The U.S. Treasury sanctioned Iran-linked cryptocurrency wallets containing $344 million in USDT that Tether had frozen following a law enforcement request. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated the action is part of 'Economic Fury' efforts to choke off financial lifelines to the Iranian regime.
The UK's Financial Conduct Authority carried out its first nationwide operation targeting illegal peer-to-peer crypto trading, raiding eight locations suspected of facilitating P2P trading without required registration or anti-money laundering controls.
The U.S. Treasury Department issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on April 8 requiring payment stablecoin issuers to implement anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance measures for secondary market transactions. The proposal sets new standards for combating illicit finance in stablecoin markets.
A joint U.S., UK, and Canadian operation called Operation Atlantic froze over $12 million tied to cryptocurrency approval phishing scams, disrupted more than 120 fraud domains, and identified over 20,000 victims. Crypto firms including Coinbase and Kraken participated in the effort.
Security researcher ZachXBT exposed a 390-account North Korean IT worker network that has generated over $3.5 million in crypto flows since November 2025, coordinating payments through a server using the password '123456.' The revelation follows earlier reports of North Korean infiltration of 40+ DeFi platforms.
The Department of Justice announced three separate civil and criminal actions targeting companies and individuals for schemes that attempted to fraudulently bill taxpayer-funded healthcare programs for approximately $500 million.
Treasury's FinCEN and OFAC jointly proposed a rule on April 10, 2026, formally treating stablecoin issuers as financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act. Issuers must implement full AML/CFT programs with customer due diligence, suspicious activity reporting, and the technical capability to block or freeze illicit on-chain transactions, alongside mandatory OFAC sanctions screening.
On-chain investigator ZachXBT published 'Circle Files' alleging that Circle has inconsistently applied its freeze powers for USDC, with wallets blocked while stolen funds continued to move, raising questions about the stablecoin issuer's compliance enforcement.
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT publicly accused stablecoin issuer Circle of failing to freeze over $420 million in illicit USDC funds across more than 15 cases since 2022, including the recent Drift Protocol exploit where $230+ million in stolen USDC flowed through Circle's Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) without being blocked.
Federal prosecutors charged Jonathan Spalletta with exploiting smart contract vulnerabilities in Uranium Finance twice in April 2021, laundering funds through Tornado Cash and spending proceeds on collectibles including Pokémon cards and antique coins. He faces up to 30 years in prison.
The UK government has sanctioned Chinese-language crypto marketplace Xinbi for selling stolen personal data to fraudsters operating from scam compounds in Southeast Asia. The action targets financial infrastructure supporting organized fraud operations.
The UK government imposed an immediate moratorium on cryptocurrency donations to political parties following the Rycroft review, which warned that crypto's anonymity risks undermine democratic transparency and enable potential foreign interference. The ban aims to protect democracy from illicit finance.
