AML Weekly Recap and Insights | Week 27th - 31st January 2025

Jan 31, 2025

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These are the main news we found interesting for this week:

Miami Real Estate Agent Convicted in Landmark Money Laundering Case: Roman Sinyavsky, a Miami real estate broker, was convicted for aiding sanctioned Russian oligarchs in renting and selling luxury properties in Florida. This marks the first time a U.S. realtor has been held accountable under federal laws for such activities. Sinyavsky was fined $1.1 million and faces up to five years in prison.
Dutch Lender Volksbank Fined for Inadequate Risk Management: The Dutch central bank fined state-owned lender de Volksbank €20 million for inadequate risk management and failure to prevent money laundering between 2018 and 2023. Volksbank acknowledged these shortcomings and has taken measures to improve its risk management.
KuCoin Settles for Operating Unlicensed Money Transmitting Business: On January 28, 2025, KuCoin, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, has pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business in the U.S. and has been ordered to pay over $297 million in penalties. The platform, operated by Seychelles-based PEKEN GLOBAL LIMITED, violated U.S. anti-money laundering (AML) laws by failing to implement effective AML and Know-Your-Customer (KYC) programs, failing to report suspicious transactions, and failing to register with FinCEN.