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Money laundering and other forms of financial crime impose significant costs on the global economy. Recent estimates indicate that around $5.5 trillion is diverted through money laundering each year across global markets – a sum equivalent to approximately 5 percent of global gross domestic product. In an increasingly volatile economic and geopolitical climate, financial crime on this scale remains a major concern. In response, jurisdictions  and companies are taking substantive steps to counter money laundering. Organisations are dedicating more resources to know your customer protocols and other measures designed to prevent fraud and financial crime. Attention is also turning to newer challenges such as synthetic identity theft and the misuse of deepfakes.

UNITED STATES

FTI Consulting

“Some of the most pressing anti-money laundering (AML) risks we are seeing relate to changing national security priorities, including foreign terrorist organisations, export controls violations and sanctions. Those risks have always been important, but they have become significantly more complex for financial institutions (FIs) to manage in the current environment. At the same time, there is increased focus on knowing your customer, fraud and money laundering, particularly as it relates to synthetic identity theft and deepfakes.”

BRAZIL

BDO Advisory Brazil

“Brazil’s financial ecosystem is digitalising at an incredible pace, and with that comes a new wave of anti-money laundering (AML) challenges. Synthetic identities and artificial intelligence (AI)- driven fraud are no longer theoretical, they are here. Criminals are exploiting Brazil’s Pix instant payment system, which handles billions of transactions monthly, to move illicit funds through micro-transfers and mule accounts. Add to that the complexity of cross-border flows tied to drug trafficking and corruption, and Brazil becomes a critical hub for global money laundering networks.”

COLOMBIA

BDO Colombia

“In Colombia, the most relevant anti-money laundering (AML) risks remain linked to drug trafficking, illegal mining, corruption and smuggling, supported by complex corporate structures and foreign trade operations to hide illicit funds. Sectors such as finance, real estate, foreign trade, construction and gambling are highly exposed to such risks. Emerging threats include digital identity theft for product opening, fraud using artificial intelligence to bypass controls and the use of cryptoassets on unregulated platforms, which increases the speed and sophistication of laundering.”

UNITED KINGDOM

FSCom Limited

“The most pressing anti-money laundering (AML) risks continue to be complex ownership structures, gaps in ongoing monitoring, and weaknesses in screening for politically exposed persons, sanctions and adverse media. Alongside this, we are seeing a clear increase in technology-enabled threats, including synthetic identities, artificial intelligence (AI)-driven fraud and the use of cryptoassets to layer transactions. While these emerging risks are important, operational weaknesses in core controls still present the greatest vulnerability for many firms.”

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

KPMG in Ireland

“The increasing number of firms in the payments, e-money and crypto sectors provides new opportunities for criminals to use the Irish financial services sector for the purposes of money laundering and terrorist financing. These firms are usually technology-led, which reduces the cost of operating their financial crime compliance framework. However, an overdependence on technology can expose them to additional risks, especially where sound governance arrangements and robust human oversight are lacking.”

GERMANY

BDO AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft

“The most pressing anti-money laundering (AML) risks in Germany and the European Union (EU) currently stem from increasingly complex cross-border money flows, cyber enabled fraud schemes, and the rapid growth of decentralised finance and cryptoasset misuse. Financial institutions (FIs) and corporates are seeing a marked rise in synthetic identities and artificial intelligence (AI) generated documents, which complicate know your customer (KYC) processes and expand opportunities for account takeovers.”

SWITZERLAND

Deloitte AG

“Switzerland’s primary anti-money laundering (AML) threats continue to consist largely of sophisticated financial crimes. The most significant risks arise from the private banking sector, which remains a high‑risk environment due to the large volumes of cross‑border wealth it manages, the complexity of the structures involved, and the use of discretionary portfolio management arrangements, including trusts. Ongoing opacity around ultimate beneficial ownership and the potential for complex layering further increase exposure.”

LITHUANIA

EY Baltics

“Lithuania’s most pressing anti-money laundering (AML) and financial crime risks are driven by two converging factors. Firstly, the historic speed and scale of Lithuania’s financial services sector’s growth allowed several AML vulnerabilities to emerge within the market where internal controls, risk-based customer due diligence and effective transaction monitoring have, initially, not kept pace. Secondly, the country faces elevated exposure to sanctions evasion and cross-border illicit flows, given the region’s geography and trade links.”

LATVIA

BDO Latvia

“In Latvia, the most pressing anti-money laundering (AML) risks are complex corporate structures and the concealment of beneficial ownership, as well as traditional risks such as trade-based money laundering and tax-related offences. At the same time, technology-enabled threats are becoming increasingly prominent. Synthetic identities, artificial intelligence (AI)-driven fraud, and other sophisticated schemes have emerged in recent years, particularly in digital and online payment services. Crypto fraud, including call-centre-based crypto investment fraud networks, is also a growing concern.”

INDIA

PwC India

“We are witnessing a substantial rise in digital and cyber frauds that are being perpetrated using a combination of synthetic identities, impersonation and mule networks. And the proceeds of these frauds are being laundered using the same digital and fintech channels for rapid layering and integration. Over the last three to four years, the financial sector has focused on developing digital products and services to rapidly acquire and service a large, traditionally unbanked customer base. The controls and security environment is still not mature, which has provided opportunities to fraudsters to leverage the same channels for their advantage.”

MALAYSIA

BDO Malaysia

“Malaysia has long battled corruption and fraud, both of which have served to feed a large informal or shadow economy that relies heavily on cash transactions. While the authorities and mechanisms for the identification and investigation of such activities have grown stronger and more proficient, there remains a dearth of prosecutions and convictions. This situation has been exacerbated by a combination of an increase in the number of scams and investment fraud increasing the pool of illicit funds, as well as the emergence and rapid growth of the digital and fintech ecosystem.”

JAPAN

PwC Japan Group

“The most pressing anti-money laundering (AML) risk in Japan is the rapid sophistication and organisation of criminal groups, whose methods are becoming increasingly complex and difficult to detect. Phishing sites now mimic financial institutions’ (FIs’) websites and mobile apps so convincingly that distinguishing them from legitimate platforms is extremely challenging. Illicitly obtained accounts are exploited not only for direct theft but also for advanced schemes such as market manipulation and layered transactions to obscure fund flows.”

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Ankura

“The United Arab Emirate’s (UAE’s) risk landscape is evolving rapidly, particularly with the introduction of Federal Decree Law No. 10 of 2025 and the increasing sophistication of technology enabled crime. Traditional threats such as trade-based money laundering, sanctions evasion and misuse of complex corporate structures remain prominent, but digital channels are accelerating the emergence of synthetic identities, AI-enabled fraud and automated mule networks. Criminals are also leveraging privacy enhancing virtual asset tools that complicate attribution and tracing.”

CONTRIBUTORS

Ankura

BDO Advisory Brazil

BDO AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft

BDO Colombia

BDO Latvia

BDO Malaysia

Deloitte AG

EY Baltics

FSCom Limited

FTI Consulting

KPMG in Ireland

PwC India

PwC Japan Group