AML Weekly | Week 16th - 20th March 2026
What Teamwork Really Feels Like in Compliance
Dear AML professionals,
As I was reviewing this week’s developments, a few themes felt very familiar from day-to-day compliance work.
Below is a focused overview of what matters and why.
1. What Teamwork Really Feels Like in Compliance
Teamwork is often described as people working together towards a common goal.
In compliance, it feels more complex than that.
You are rarely working within one team.
You are working across functions, priorities, and expectations that move at different speeds.
Some days, teamwork looks like:
↳ Chasing information you thought someone else had already checked
↳ Explaining the same risk in three different ways to three different stakeholders
↳ Balancing business urgency with regulatory expectations
↳ Carrying responsibility for decisions you didn’t fully control
And still being expected to maintain clear oversight.
On paper, everything is in place:
↳ Policies are defined
↳ Roles are assigned
↳ Governance structures exist
In practice, the connections between them require constant effort.
Not because people are unwilling. Because each function operates within its own pressures.
Real teamwork in compliance shows up in moments like these:
↳ When someone steps in to support, even when it’s not “their task”
↳ When a colleague double-checks your work, not to control it, but to protect you
↳ When you can ask a question without feeling exposed
↳ When pressure is shared, not passed on
In compliance, the work is demanding. Pressure is part of the job.
The difference is often how supported people feel while doing it.
If this feels familiar, it’s something worth addressing early.
I’ve opened a few slots to speak directly on this - exclusively for my Substack subscribers.
Availability is limited and may fill quickly:
https://calendly.com/amlcube/compliance-discussion-anna-stylianou
2. What Matters This Week: AML News
FINMA revokes MBaer Merchant Bank license; U.S. designates as money laundering concern
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) revoked the license of MBaer Merchant Bank and initiated liquidation proceedings on 26 February, citing serious and systematic deficiencies in AML and sanctions controls.
More recently, on 19 March, the U.S. Treasury (FinCEN) designated the bank as a primary money laundering concern under Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act.
A significant portion of the bank’s activity was classified as high-risk, with around 80% of relationships and 98% of assets linked to higher-risk clients. Authorities also reported transactions connected to sanctioned networks, including Iranian oil trading structures.
Why this matters
This case shows how quickly exposure can build when business activity is concentrated in higher-risk areas.
Even when frameworks are in place, the way they operate in practice becomes critical.
Over time, these situations become difficult to manage and even harder to reverse.
INTERPOL publishes Global Financial Fraud Threat Assessment 2026
INTERPOL has released its Global Financial Fraud Threat Assessment 2026, highlighting how financial fraud continues to evolve and expand across jurisdictions. The report describes a more organised and scalable fraud landscape, supported by the use of artificial intelligence, automation, and “fraud-as-a-service” models.
It also highlights the growth of scam centres operating across multiple regions and the increasing link between fraud, organised crime, and money laundering networks.
Why this matters
The report reinforces how closely fraud and money laundering are connected in practice.
As fraud becomes more structured, the movement of funds across systems becomes faster and more complex.
Understanding these connections is becoming part of day-to-day compliance work.
3. From this week:
I also shared on LinkedIn this week:
Is cash still a preferred tool for money laundering in 2026?
AML and fraud are often discussed together. They are related, but they are not the same.
That’s all for this week!
Best
Anna