Hello and welcome to episode 208 of the Financial Crime Weekly Podcast. I am Chris Kirkbride. In this episode, we begin with significant global enforcement actions, including the landmark agreement by the EU to phase out Russian gas imports by the end of 2027, and the UK’s expansion of sanctions with 12 new designations targeting individuals and entities under its Cyber and Russia regimes, alongside new counter-terrorism designations. In the US, the Treasury’s OFAC imposed a substantial $7.1m penalty on Gracetown Inc for violating Russia-related sanctions involving an entity owned by sanctioned oligarch Oleg Deripaska, and sanctioned a Venezuelan entertainer and associates for supporting the terrorist cartel Tren de Aragua. We also look at major crime fighting successes, such as Europol and Eurojust dismantling a massive cryptocurrency fraud network responsible for laundering over €700 million, and the EU formally designating Russia as a high-risk jurisdiction for money laundering and terrorist financing. Finally, on domestic issues, the UK Gambling Commission fining Done Brothers £825,000 for serious anti-money laundering and social responsibility failings, and the launch of the new Report Fraud service by the City of London Police to replace Action Fraud.

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