Financial Crime Weekly Episode 266

Welcome to episode 266 of the Financial Crime Weekly Podcast. I am Chris Kirkbride. In this episode, global developments in sanctions enforcement, regulatory compliance, enforcement actions, and cyber security policy. On sanctions, OFAC provides clarification on Russian sanctions, and starts the process to lift Syria's designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism. In the UK, HMRC reports recovering over £4.2 billion from tax fraud and trade sanctions breaches in its latest annual notes. Under regulatory developments, the Financial Action Task Force has published a global review on the successes and barriers in anti-money laundering coalitions, while MONEYVAL has urged Armenia to strengthen its money laundering prosecutions. In fraud enforcement, a former Puerto Rico private equity fund manager has been indicted for alleged embezzlement, and INTERPOL makes arrests and intercepts millions in illicit assets. On market abuse, the FCA has intensified its crackdown on market abuse and social media "finfluencers". While on bribery and corruption, the OECD warns on Türkiye's persistent anti-bribery failures, alongside warnings from anti-corruption analysts on the proposed revival of the UK's investor visa scheme. Finally, a UK Treasury study challenges corporate boards to reframe cyber resilience.

A transcript of this podcast, with links to the stories, will be available at www.crimes.financial.

The photograph on the podcast cover art is by Sora Shimazaki at Pexels, and the stinger sample between each news section is ‘Ben Logo 1’ by BenKirb from Pixabay.