Sep 30, 2026
Tether confirmed freezing approximately $550 million in Iran-linked USDT in 2026, while a Senate Democratic report found USDT dominated activity in 84% of Iran- and proxy-linked wallets studied, calling it a 'significant financial lifeline' for the regime.
Brazil will mandate that regulated banks and exchanges report cryptocurrency transfers of $10,000 or more involving self-custody wallets beginning October 1, 2026, expanding anti-money laundering oversight across the country's $252.5 billion crypto market.
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce urged regulators to adopt zero-knowledge proof technology to allow cryptocurrency firms to conduct KYC checks while collecting less personal data. The proposal comes as federal agencies advance stablecoin regulation under the GENIUS Act.
U.S. federal prosecutors have charged a Vietnamese national with money laundering in connection with a "pig butchering" cryptocurrency scam that defrauded one victim of approximately $16 million. The case involves a sprawling fraud scheme that moved funds through cryptocurrency channels.
Federal prosecutors seized approximately $84.2 million from accounts of Capstone Ltd., a payments firm working on behalf of Tether and Bitfinex at offshore bank EQIBank. Tether stated its exposure represents less than 0.034% of group assets.
The Manhattan US attorney's office and DOJ's criminal division are examining whether Binance knowingly allowed trading that violated US sanctions on Iran, three years after the exchange agreed to $4.3 billion in penalties to settle similar charges.
Lam Chun-yin, a 32-year-old former China Construction Bank relationship manager, received a four-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to accepting more than $470,000 in Tether to falsely authenticate forged bank instruments worth over $1.6 billion.
Authorities in the UAE and Sweden conducted a coordinated operation arresting seven suspects, including a Swedish national wanted under an Interpol Red Notice, for allegedly running an international money laundering network that moved approximately 70 million Swedish krona ($7.1-7.5 million) in cryptocurrency. The network is linked to organized crime and contract killings.
The US Treasury sanctioned Iranian cryptocurrency exchange BitBank, accusing it of processing hundreds of millions of dollars in bitcoin for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and facilitating payments for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
Britain's Financial Conduct Authority, along with HMRC and Metropolitan Police, took enforcement action against three London premises on September 10, issuing cease and desist letters for suspected illegal peer-to-peer cryptocurrency trading operations without proper registration.
Hamas' military wing Al Qassam Brigades advised potential donors to avoid using Binance for cryptocurrency transfers and instead use platforms including Bybit, OKX, Kast, and Redotpay, according to U.S. Department of Justice documents released in September 2026.
CoinEx announced it will cease operations on December 22, 2026, nine years after launching. The closure comes less than three months after a Wall Street Journal investigation highlighted the exchange's role as a hub for illicit Iranian cash transactions, amid broader challenges in the cryptocurrency market.
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking approximately $61 million in cryptocurrency allegedly derived from black-market sales of sanctioned Iranian crude oil and petroleum products, with funds allegedly laundered through Binance to Chinese buyers.
The US Department of Justice filed a civil forfeiture complaint against $61 million in cryptocurrency held in Binance accounts, alleging the funds originated from black market Iranian oil sales and money laundering operations.
Bulgaria's parliament approved amendments to its Tax and Social Security Procedure Code requiring cryptocurrency service providers to report detailed customer identities, tax residency information, and transaction data to tax officials. The legislation, passed with 149 votes in favor and 10 abstentions, aligns Bulgaria with EU directives aimed at curbing tax evasion and enhancing cross-border tax transparency.
Authorities uncovered a clandestine cryptocurrency mining farm operated by a drug cartel in the mountains of central Mexico, highlighting cartels' expanding use of digital currencies for funding operations.
Singapore has begun online auctions of over 600 luxury items forfeited in its S$3 billion money laundering case, with 15 auctions scheduled to run through May 2027. The first two auctions feature 338 items including designer bags, jewelry, and a 15-carat diamond.
The U.S. Department of Justice seized Telegram channels operated by Xinbi Guarantee, a Chinese-language illicit marketplace, while the Secret Service froze $52.8 million in USDT across 52 wallets on September 8. Treasury designated Xinbi as a criminal organization, citing its role in processing $24 billion in scam-related transactions.
India's Financial Intelligence Unit issued notices to 15 offshore cryptocurrency platforms, including Weex, Blofin, Bitunix, DigiFinex, and Toobit, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act for serving Indian customers without meeting anti-money laundering compliance requirements. The action seeks takedowns of the platforms for operating without proper registration.
India's Financial Intelligence Unit issued non-compliance notices to 15 cryptocurrency platforms including Weex, Blofin, Bitunix, DigiFinex, and Toobit under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, ordering them to block public access to their apps and websites. The action raises concerns about sudden account lockouts for users.
Spain's largest cryptocurrency exchange Bit2Me has established a specialized unit called Bit2Shield to assist police, courts, and financial institutions with tracing, seizing, storing, and liquidating cryptocurrency linked to criminal investigations.
Australia's financial intelligence agency announced it canceled, suspended, or refused to renew 45 registrations for crypto and remittance providers over the past year, including action against GetCoins linked to investment scams.
Carlos Erick Vazquez Gonzalez, 48, pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder approximately $4 million in drug trafficking proceeds from the United States back to Mexico using cryptocurrency. He worked with money brokers and the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación, earning $40,000 for his role, and faces up to 20 years in prison.
Despite the Trump administration's efforts to isolate Iran from the global financial system, approximately $9 billion in suspected Iranian funds have passed through U.S. correspondent bank accounts, exposing a significant weakness in the sanctions regime. The administration has responded with sweeping new sanctions against all Iranian airlines and foreign companies doing business with Iran.
The Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) identified approximately $12.7 billion in suspected financial activity linked to digital asset investment scams operated by overseas criminal networks, based on analysis of 33,904 Bank Secrecy Act reports. The alert urges financial institutions to report suspicious activity related to these scams.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network analyzed 33,904 suspicious activity reports and identified $12.7 billion in crypto transactions linked to pig butchering and other scams operated from Asian compounds.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network analyzed over 33,000 suspicious activity reports filed between September 2023 and December 2025, identifying $12.7 billion in suspected fraudulent cryptocurrency transactions tied to pig butchering scams operated from Asian compounds. The announcement comes as Singapore authorities separately reported preventing $9 million in crypto scam losses through a joint police and exchange operation.
The Justice Department announced the FBI seized more than $560,000 in cryptocurrency donations allegedly intended for Hamas's Al Qassam Brigades, taking control of fundraising domains and servers. The operation disrupted terror financing through targeted crypto warrants issued in 2025.
Wallets linked to North Korea's Lazarus Group moved more than $30 million in Bitcoin through decentralized exchange Hyperliquid over three weeks, raising sanctions compliance questions as the platform pursues US market entry through talks with Kraken parent Payward.
Kraken temporarily froze customer accounts after nearly 12,000 unsolicited small cryptocurrency transfers from wallets linked to sanctioned exchange HTX reached the platform between August 17-24. The dust attack triggered Kraken's compliance screening systems, though the exchange has since restored access to affected accounts.
The US Treasury's OFAC issued a sectoral determination allowing it to sanction any person worldwide who operates in Iran's digital asset sector, as part of Treasury Secretary Bessent's 'Operation Economic Outcast' targeting Iran's economy through crypto, gold, shipping and technology sectors.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a new wave of sanctions aimed at Iran's use of cryptocurrency and international networks to circumvent existing US economic restrictions. The move represents an escalation in Washington's economic campaign against Tehran, with threats of secondary sanctions on cooperating entities.
Two Binance employees were detained by police in the United Arab Emirates in recent weeks amid inquiries into possible financial crimes on the cryptocurrency platform. Binance confirmed on Aug. 20 that both employees had been cleared and released after answering questions about third-party fund flows.
Two Binance employees were detained at UAE airports in recent weeks amid police inquiries into possible financial crimes on the cryptocurrency platform, according to the New York Times. Both have since been released.
The European Union is preparing to significantly expand sanctions against Russia in the coming months, including measures targeting 14 foreign crypto service platforms and introducing country-level transaction bans that could cut EU operators off from crypto providers suspected of sanctions evasion, according to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.
Blockchain analytics company Chainalysis filed suit against the US government over Immigration and Customs Enforcement's decision to award a sole-source contract to competitor TRM Labs, alleging the procurement process was improper.
The Financial Action Task Force has unveiled new anti-money laundering criteria designed to evaluate whether decentralized finance platforms truly qualify as "decentralized," potentially subjecting them to stricter regulatory oversight.
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.
Australia's financial intelligence agency AUSTRAC suspended crypto ATM operator Cryptolink's registration for three months, taking 96 cryptocurrency ATMs across the country out of service. The suspension was issued due to missing transaction reports and the company's failure to respond to regulatory inquiries.
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.