The UK Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) has recently published proposed changes to its Financial Crime Guide (available here). The Financial Crime Guide sets out the FCA’s expectations for how financial institutions should approach compliance across a range of financial crime areas, and includes examples of what the FCA considers to be good and bad practice. The guide makes clear that firms “should apply the guidance in a risk-based, proportionate way taking into account such factors…
On 29 September 2026, a range of new and expanded UK sanctions targeting Iran entered into force, following the publication on 8 September 2026 of the Iran (Sanctions) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (the “Regulations”). The Regulations amend both the Iran (Sanctions) Regulations 2023, which principally address human rights abuses and hostile activity by Iran, and the Iran (Sanctions) (Nuclear) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, which seek to restrict Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons and implement certain…
On 8 September 2026, the UK government designated five settlers under the existing Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020 and announced that it will introduce a new sanctions regime targeting settlements in the occupied West Bank over the next six to nine months, under the powers conferred to it by the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018. The announcement formed part of a coordinated cross-jurisdictional effort and was made alongside a joint statement by the UK and 11 other countries, including France, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, and Sweden. These countries committed…
On 23 July 2026, the European Council adopted its 21st package of Russia sanctions as well as additional measures targeting Belarus. The package concentrates on sectors with the greatest impact on Russia’s war economy, including energy, shipping, gold, financial services (including crypto), trade, and the Russian military-industrial complex. Key elements include a full-year suspension of the oil price cap adjustment, a new tool allowing transaction bans on named refineries that process Russian crude (listing one…