March 31 - Switzerland is at an important juncture. It must decide whether it will move ahead with its planned anti-money laundering policy or remain a major global destination for dirty money. The Federal Council in the country intends to implement two key measures: A transparency register for the beneficial owners of legal entities and expanding the scope of the Money Laundering Act to include advisors as well as customer due diligence and reporting requirements for lawyers. However, sluggish parliamentary debate raises serious questions about the true willingness to reform, potentially jeopardising these measures and undermining Switzerland’s efforts to meet global standards in the fight against corruption.

March 31 - Australia’s financial crimes watchdog has placed crypto ATM operators “on notice,” warning many such machines may be helping criminals launder money or defraud victims. The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) said its crypto taskforce, formed last December, uncovered "worrying trends and indicators of suspicious activity" tied to crypto ATMs, including links to scams and fraud, in a statement released Monday.

March 31 - South Africa achieved the highest score among 24 countries in an index that evaluates how well a real estate market is protected from illicit financial activities, particularly money laundering. The findings of the first Opacity in Real Estate Ownership (OREO) Index were published last week. The tool was developed by Transparency International and the Anti-Corruption Data Collective (ACDC).

March 31 - Nasdaq Verafin has released its new report, Financial Crime Insights: Europe, that takes a deeper dive into the scale of financial crime across Europe. This report provides new analysis of the data from the 2024 Global Financial Crime Report, and industry insights from a survey of anti-financial crime professionals from across Europe, including the EU, UK, Nordic region and more. Financial crime in Europe is staggering in scale and inextricably linked to a global crisis that undermines financial systems, economies and communities around the world. An estimated $750 billion in illicit funds flowed through Europe’s financial system, representing 2.3% of total European GDP. Fraud also poses a substantial threat to Europe's financial industry, with an estimated $103.6 billion in losses resulting from various scams and bank fraud scenarios.

March 30 - India has asked the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global watchdog on money laundering, to relax compliance requirements for cross‑border payments processed through its domestic system. This move is aimed at streamlining international transactions and enhancing the efficiency of India's payment ecosystem, Reuters reported.