Developments · monthly edition
Verified changes in financial crime, sanctions and regulation across the EU, the UK and Switzerland. Every entry links to its primary source.
56 entries · 6 stories moved · 28 issuing bodies · open edition, as at 27 October 2026
On 23 October 2026 the Düsseldorf Regional Court sentenced two members of a criminal organisation behind the €200 million 'Goliath' VAT fraud, the EPPO reports.
On 23 October 2026 the FCA announced voluntary restrictions on six Annex 1 lenders after raising concerns about their anti-money laundering controls.
The FCA is consulting until 24 December 2026 on updates to its Financial Crime Guide, in CP26/38 of 23 October 2026.
On 20 and 21 October 2026 the EPPO in Bratislava had searches carried out in Slovakia in its 'Pantastic' probe into an alleged €234 million customs and VAT fraud helped by bribed officials.
ESMA's Interim MiCA Register carries a 'last update' of 22 October 2026 (19 October previously).
On 21 October 2026 ESMA published reporting instructions for MIDAS, the central system that collects CASPs' MiCA record-keeping data for market-abuse surveillance, and opened CASP onboarding.
By Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2388 of 21 October 2026, the European Commission deleted one entry from Annex IV to Council Regulation (EC) No 1210/2003, the EU's Iraq asset freeze.
On 21 October 2026 the European Commission amended two entries on the EU's ISIL/Al-Qaida list, one person and one entity, to follow the UN committee's decision of 15 October.
On 21 October 2026 the FCA published two consultations, both closing on 18 November 2026.
On 21 October 2026 OFAC designated a law firm with addresses in Panama City and Piraeus, Greece, five linked individuals and a Piraeus shipping company with its vessels, under the Iran programme (E.O.
On 20 October 2026 FINMA announced it had approved Switzerland's first exchange-traded retail fund investing directly in Bitcoin.
On 20 October 2026 Switzerland de-listed three individuals and one entity under its Democratic Republic of the Congo sanctions ordinance.
ESMA's Interim MiCA Register, updated on 19 October 2026, lists 379 CASP records, up from 370 on 7 October.
On 19 October 2026 the High Court held that London black-cab drivers' conspiracy claims against Uber are time-barred, in Garry White & Ors v Uber London Ltd & Ors CITATION.
On 15 October 2026 OFAC issued General License 130B, authorising transactions with four Bulgarian Lukoil entities, and entities they own 50% or more, until 12:01 a.m.
The EPPO's Munich office reported five arrests in Cyprus, Germany and Italy on 16 October 2026 in a smartphone VAT carousel it links to its 2024 'Midas' investigation.
On 16 October 2026 the FCA revoked its bans on four individuals whose LIBOR and EURIBOR convictions the Court of Appeal had quashed.
A judgment cannot be set aside under the 'fraud of a party' rule for a stranger's fraud, the High Court held on 16 October 2026.
On 15 October 2026 the UN sanctions committee amended three entries on its ISIL (Da'esh) and Al-Qaida list, and Switzerland applied the change directly, FINMA's notice of 16 October states.
On 15 October 2026 the EU added three persons and nine entities to its Ukraine territorial-integrity list.
Switzerland's third national money-laundering and terrorist-financing risk assessment (NRA 26) finds risk exposure stable, the Federal Council was told on 14 October 2026.
From 16 October 2026 Switzerland's list of Venezuelan politically exposed persons whose assets are frozen is amended.
On 14 October 2026 the EBA classified USDC, issued in the EU by Circle Internet Financial Europe SAS, as the first significant e-money token under MiCA.
The FCA found 'material weaknesses' in market abuse surveillance at seven UK retail brokers, it reports in Market Watch 86 of 14 October 2026.
On 13 October 2026 the Council deleted two Belarus entries and renewed the Guinea regime to 27 October 2027, removing two individuals.
From 13 October 2026 a company's lawyers may discuss a possible self-report directly with the SFO's Director of Legal Services and General Counsel, through a dedicated email address, before submitting it.
On 12 October 2026 the Council extended the EU's chemical-weapons sanctions framework to 30 October 2031 and its listings to 30 October 2027.
On 12 October 2026 the EU listed three persons and four entities under its DPRK regime, citing DPRK–Russia cooperation and UN sanctions evasion.
On 12 October 2026 the EU added 826 entities and 743 persons from Russia's military-industrial complex to its Ukraine territorial-integrity list.
On 12 October 2026 the EU listed 77 persons over the September 2026 State Duma elections held in occupied Ukrainian territory.
On 12 October 2026 the High Court held that Chinese law governs fraud victims' proprietary claims to Bitcoin held in the DPP's civil recovery proceedings, in Director of Public Prosecutions v Zhimin Qian & Anor CITATION.
On 12 October 2026, in an FCA prosecution, the director and the business operations manager of two Nexus advice firms pleaded guilty at Portsmouth Crown Court to fraud and forgery.
From 15 October 2026 the UK's Global Human Rights sanctions regime is replaced by a wider Global Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law regime, under SI 2026/1071.
On 12 October 2026 the UK designated two individuals under the Iran (Sanctions) Regulations 2023 for hostile activity by the Government of Iran, with an asset freeze, travel ban and director disqualification.
The Government is consulting until 23:59 on 8 January 2027 on whistleblowing reform and an SFO scheme to pay rewards to people who report economic crime.
On 9 October 2026 the Council renewed the EU's Nicaragua and Niger regimes and removed its Libya high-seas inspection provisions, in five acts in force from 13 October 2026.
On 9 October 2026 the Council renewed the EU's Sudan sanctions regime to 10 October 2027 and amended three entries.
On 9 October 2026 an investor won summary judgment for fraudulent misrepresentation against an investment manager in Shaw v Coleman Capital LLP (in liquidation) & Ors CITATION.
On 9 October 2026 OFAC designated the International Criminal Court, at its seat in The Hague, under ICC-EO14203, and issued related general licences.
From 1 November 2026 Swiss financial intermediaries may use the e-ID to identify clients onboarded digitally, under FINMA's partially revised Circular 2016/7 "Video and online identification", adopted on 8 October 2026.
ESMA's Opinion of 8 October 2026 states that CASPs should stop providing services in stablecoins that do not comply with MiCA.
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2287 of 8 October 2026 replaces the identifying data of one entity entry on the EU's ISIL/Al-Qaida list, the 362nd amendment of Regulation (EC) No 881/2002.
On 8 October 2026 the Council renewed the EU's Russia destabilising-activities regime to 9 October 2027 and moved one listed person to the Ukraine territorial-integrity regime.
On 8 October 2026 the UK made 26 new designations and 12 new ship specifications under the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, and varied 2 existing designations.
AMLA opened a consultation on 7 October 2026 on draft Regulatory Technical Standards under Article 11(6) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1620 (AMLAR) establishing a central AML/CFT database.
On 7 October 2026 the EPPO carried out over 300 searches in eight countries and detained 62 suspects in its 'Hermes' investigation into a carousel VAT fraud in mobile phones and electronics.
On 7 October 2026 the EPPO's Ostrava office indicted four individuals for serious tax fraud in its 'Záblesk' electronics VAT investigation, and proposed plea bargains for four more to Prague's Municipal Court.
ESMA's MiCA page states that the Interim MiCA Register was last updated on 7 October 2026; the CASP file carries a server timestamp of 7 October 2026 13:00 GMT and the non-compliant-entity file 13:04 GMT.
A Swiss-registered entity listed under the UN Iraq sanctions regime since 26 April 2004 (IQe.200) has been delisted, and Switzerland and the UK have implemented the removal.
A CASP may hold client funds briefly with a payment or e-money institution, but must move them to a bank or central bank by the end of the next business day, ESMA states.
On 6 October 2026 the UK revoked one designation under the Syria (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, of an individual it designated on 31 December 2020.
The Federal Council is consulting until 19 January 2027 on approving the Third Additional Protocol to the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (SR 0·351·1).
Liechtenstein's beneficial-ownership register (VwbP), closed to external users since the cyberattack of 30 July 2026, reopens in restricted form from Monday 5 October 2026, the Government states.
On 1 October 2026 AMLA sent the European Commission final draft Regulatory Technical Standards on customer due diligence, CDD thresholds and group-wide requirements under the AMLR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1624).
On 1 October 2026 the UK made 23 new designations and 8 new ship specifications under its Russia sanctions regime, the FCDO's change history records.
Between 8 September and 1 October 2026 OFAC issued 14 notices; three touch EU, UK or Swiss parties.