Tag: #ComplianceMatters
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When Growth Outpaces Compliance: Wise’s AML Failures Case Study
By Viktor Ha | July 2026 | AML-CAMS Blog TL;DR: On 24 July 2026, the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency rejected Wise’s application for a national trust bank charter, citing longstanding AML/CFT deficiencies. It is the OCC’s first fintech charter denial this year, after approving more than two dozen others. The rejection… Read more
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AML Compliance Culture Failure: Tabcorp and AUSTRAC’s Return
By Viktor Ha | June 2026 | AML-CAMS Blog The Quote That Defines an AML Compliance Culture Failure In March 2017, AUSTRAC CEO Paul Jevtovic addressed the media after the Federal Court ordered Tabcorp to pay a $45 million civil penalty for 108 contraventions of the AML/CTF Act over five years. His words were precise:… Read more
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The Human Head Problem: What Wynn’s $130M Forfeiture Reveals About Casino AML and Beneficial Ownership
By Viktor Ha | April 2026 | AML-CAMS Blog TL;DR: In September 2024, Wynn Las Vegas forfeited $130 million — the largest criminal forfeiture by a US casino — after admitting it conspired with unlicensed money transmitters and knowingly allowed proxy gambling schemes designed to defeat AML controls. The core failure wasn’t a technology gap… Read more
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Two Regulators, One Problem, Opposite Answers: FinCEN vs AUSTRAC
By Viktor Ha | April 2026 | AML-CAMS Blog TL;DR: On 7 April 2026, FinCEN proposed sweeping reforms to US AML programs — less paperwork, more flexibility, higher threshold for enforcement action. Meanwhile, AUSTRAC has spent the past six months ordering compulsory audits, running sector-wide enforcement campaigns, and putting entire industries on notice. Both regulators… Read more
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When the Audit Passes and the Problem Doesn’t: The Airwallex AUSTRAC Story
By Viktor Ha | April 2026 | AML-CAMS Blog Airwallex had already been audited. AUSTRAC looked at their program in 2024. An independent external reviewer followed up in 2025 and signed off — controls in place, systems adequate, no major concerns. Then, on 22 January 2026, AUSTRAC ordered another external audit. This time under section… Read more
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You Can Outsource the Work. You Can’t Outsource the Obligation.
AUSTRAC has filed its first-ever civil penalty proceedings against a registered licensed club. Not a casino. Not a bank. A community club in Sydney’s west with 1,400 poker machines and $4.17 billion in customer deposits over four years. Mount Pritchard District and Community Club — better known as Mounties — is one of the largest… Read more
