Our monthly round up of news items which help businesses understand the risks around AML and more
Criminals lose, compliance wins, the smarter way to safeguard your business.
Cyber Security
AI is now both the weapon and the target in cyberattacks
CrowdStrike’s latest Threat Hunting Report shows how artificial intelligence is reshaping the threat landscape on both sides of the equation. According to the report, AI-enabled adversary activity rose sharply during 2025, with attackers using AI to automate reconnaissance, generate malicious code, improve social engineering and accelerate the exploitation of vulnerabilities.
The report also highlights a shift in attacker focus towards AI infrastructure itself. Rather than just using AI as a tool, attackers are now targeting the systems that power and manage AI models, including software supply chains and related cloud environments.
For defenders, that means AI must now be treated not only as a force multiplier for attackers, but also as a high-value asset that needs protecting in its own right
Organised Crime
Teenagers recruited online into Europe’s violence-as-a-service networks
A disturbing trend is emerging across Europe as organised crime groups recruit teenagers online to act as hitmen. Rather than relying solely on established gang members, criminals are using encrypted messaging apps, gaming platforms and social media to target vulnerable young people, often offering money and a sense of status in return for carrying out violent attacks. Europol describes this as “violence-as-a-service”, a model in which the instigator, recruiter, enabler and perpetrator are all separated to reduce risk for the wider criminal network.
Investigators say the tactic is being used to arrange murders, bombings, abductions and intimidation, with minors often given weapons, logistics and step-by-step instructions remotely. The result is a low-cost, cross-border system for violence in which the young perpetrators may not fully understand the wider criminal structure behind the attack. Europol has launched Operational Taskforce GRIMM to disrupt these networks and work with law enforcement and tech companies to identify recruitment methods and prevent further exploitation.
Regulatory
UBS fined $125 million over anti-money laundering failures
UBS Financial Services, a subsidiary of Swiss lender UBS Group, has agreed to pay US$125 million to settle allegations that it willfully and repeatedly breached anti-money laundering requirements. The penalty, announced by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), is the largest ever imposed by the agency on a broker-dealer for Bank Secrecy Act violations. It also marks the second enforcement action against UBS’s brokerage business.
The regulator said UBS failed to correct long-standing weaknesses in its automated monitoring systems, despite a previous consent decree in 2018 that had already resulted in civil penalties. As a result, the firm allegedly failed to monitor more than 50,000 foreign currency wire transfers worth over $10 billion. FinCEN also said the business did not implement an adequate AML programme or file suspicious activity reports where required.
The failings were concentrated in higher-risk transfers between January 2019 and June 2023, including activity involving high-risk jurisdictions, unusually large payments and transactions with no apparent business purpose. FinCEN described the case as a warning to financial institutions that repeated breaches of anti-money laundering obligations will be met with severe consequences. UBS said the settlement resolves a “legacy matter” and stated that it has made significant investments to strengthen its controls.
Comment – Cases like this show why strong AML controls, robust monitoring and effective enhanced due diligence are essential. Find out how EDD-Pro can help your team identify risk earlier, streamline investigations and keep your compliance process audit-ready.
