01FCA · Asset Management
FCA puts asset managers on notice over financial crime controls
The FCA published findings from its review of 242 asset management and alternative firms on 22 July, concluding that some are in breach of legal requirements — not merely falling short of best practice. Private markets firms drew the sharpest findings, including failures to identify beneficial owners in multi-layered offshore structures and inadequate oversight of outsourced CDD and EDD. Around 40% of firms outsource some part of their financial crime function, yet only 36% of those maintained full oversight of the third party’s processes. Enforcement in this sector should be expected to follow.
Read: FCA →
02EU · AMLA
AMLA finalises standards for supervisory cooperation in direct supervision
The EU’s Anti-Money Laundering Authority published the rules setting out its cooperation with national financial supervisors to select and directly supervise some of the most significant cross-border financial institutions in the EU on 21 July. The standards cover how entities are selected, how supervision passes between national and EU level, and how AMLA and national supervisors work side by side. From 2028, AMLA will directly supervise some of the most impactful cross-border institutions at group level. For UK firms with EU operations or group structures, this is no longer a watch item — it is an active compliance programme item requiring gap analysis now, before the standards are locked in.
Read: European Times →
03SRA · Enforcement
SRA fines two law firms in one week for AML failures
The SRA fined KTP Solicitors £5,617 on 28 July for AML risk assessment failures and Fulchers of Farnborough £1,995 on 29 July for AML control failures. The amounts are modest but the pattern is not. The SRA’s data-led inspection programme is generating a steady stream of enforcement outcomes, and the firms being caught are not the firms that would have expected to be caught. If your AML risk assessment is not documented, dated and signed off, it is a vulnerability.
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04US · FinCEN
FinCEN alerts on AI-enabled student aid fraud rings
FinCEN issued alert FIN-2026-Alert004 on 24 July warning institutions about organised fraud rings targeting US federal student aid programmes using stolen identities, AI-generated synthetic identities and complicit straw students. Federal investigators have uncovered more than $350 million in ghost student fraud over five years. The AI angle is the relevant one for UK compliance teams: synthetic identity fraud using AI-generated documents is a typology that does not stop at borders.
Read: FinCEN →
05Netherlands · EnforcementOne to Watch
Dutch prosecutors seize record €433m in criminal assets
The Dutch Public Prosecution Service seized a record €433 million in criminal money and assets in 2025, the fourth consecutive annual increase. Of that, €18.3 million involved cryptocurrency, down sharply from €46.9 million the previous year. The drop in crypto seizures is worth watching: it may reflect shifting typologies as criminals adapt their laundering methods, rather than a reduction in crypto-related crime volumes.
Read: NL Times →
If anything in this edition raises a question for your firm, feel free to get in touch directly.
Michael Harris
Founder, The Compliance Briefing