Financial Crime Developments, Resources and Stories: February 2025 Edition

February 13, 2025
2 min read

Welcome to the February 2025 summary of news you can use as your bank or other financial institution attempts to stay up to date on the world of BSA/AML compliance. Our monthly series of curated news about FinCrime regulatory developments, resources and stories.

In this edition, three main stories emerge:

TD Bank is Selling Charles Schwab Stake to Combat AML Fallout
FATF President Says FIs Must Become a ‘first line of defense’ Against Terror Plots
The EU Fails to Sanction Russian LNG Again in 2025

TD Bank Selling Charles Schwab Stake to Combat AML Fallout

Investor confidence in TD Bank deteriorated in 2024 when the bank pleaded guilty to multiple charges for failings in its anti-money-laundering (AML) measures at its U.S. operation.

In late 2024, TD agreed to pay more than $3 billion in fines and penalties. In addition, the bank appointed new leaders across their U.S. operations, overhauled their U.S. AML team and prioritized investments to drive the required changes, according to Alan MacGibbon, chair of the board of TD Bank Group.

Now, according to a February 10 report in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), TD’s new CEO Raymond Chun has decided to sell TD’s 10.1% stake in Charles Schwab to stem losses caused in large part by the massive money-laundering-related scandal.

FATF President Says FIs Must Become a ‘first line of defense’ Against Terror Plots

Speaking in Munich, Germany recently, Elisa de Anda Madrazo, President of The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), said that FATF will soon publish an in-depth analysis of terrorist financing risks, drawing from experiences in approximately 200 jurisdictions.

Madrazo said the move is in response to 8,350 people being killed by terrorists in 2023, a 22% increase over 2022. She noted how financial institutions are in the position to notice the money movements which terrorists need to finance their attacks. She cited the example of last year’s Paris Olympics, when three terror plots were stopped after France’s Financial Intelligence Unit “shared information with domestic and international partners which helped identify suspects.”

The EU Fails to Sanction Russian LNG Again in 2025

With gas prices remaining high across EU nations this winter, governments are prioritizing economics over their aim to weaken Russia for its open war on Ukraine. In fact, not only does the EU continue to import liquified natural gas (LNG) from Russia, sales of LNG from Russia to the EU increased by 24% from 2023 to 2024.

Ten EU nations, including the Nordic and Baltic called for a ban last month. Conveniently – and underscoring the economics behind nations’ position on the matter – none of the countries that called for the ban currently imports Russian.