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On 12 March 2025, the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority (UK FCA) published a statement titled “Update on the FCA’s enforcement transparency proposals,” outlining s improvements in the pace of investigations and the regulator’s next steps regarding transparency in enforcement matters. The UK FCA confirmed that, following extensive consultation, it will not proceed with its proposal to shift from an exceptional circumstances test to a public interest test for announcing investigations into regulated firms due to a lack of consensus. The regulator elaborated on areas of broad industry support, including reactively confirming investigations already in the public domain, issuing public notifications on potentially unlawful activities of unregulated firms and regulated firms operating outside the regulatory perimeter, and publishing anonymised details of issues under investigation. The UK FCA has committed to implementing these supported measures and will publish its final policy...

On 12 March 2025, Mr. Nikhil Rathi, Chief Executive of the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority (UK FCA), published a statement welcoming the UK Government’s announcement on the future of the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), stating the need for a more streamlined regulatory framework. Mr. Nikhil Rathi while acknowledging UK PSR’s role in enhancing payment system safety, competition, and innovation, stating, “PSR colleagues have made payment systems safer, more competitive and increasingly innovative. They should be proud of the huge amount achieved. With a changed payments landscape, now is the right time to put in place a more streamlined regulatory framework. Doing so is a natural next step following recent work to improve co-ordination and clarity on regulatory responsibilities. We will work closely with government, the Bank of England and the payment sector as the details of this change are decided and to ensure the transfer of any powers is smooth. In the meantime, we...

On 17 March 2025, the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority (UK FCA) refused Zeux Limited’s application for registration as a cryptoasset exchange provider under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (MLRs 2017). The regulator cited risks of harm to the public due to the firm’s failure to implement anti-money laundering controls and effective risk management. Zeux Limited submitted its application for registration in June 2022, seeking approval to operate as a cryptoasset exchange provider in the UK. After a detailed assessment, the UK FCA determined that the firm’s anti-money laundering controls fell well short of legislative requirements. According to the UKFCA the application had several deficiencies, including, failure to understand, identify, and document risks associated with money laundering and terrorist financing, failure to consider the National Risk Assessment, which outlines key money laundering...

On 13 March 2025, the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (US CFTC) published CFTC Letter No. 25-05, officially announcing the withdrawal of CFTC Letter No. 21-19: Staff Advisory on Swap Execution Facility Registration Requirement (SEF Registration Advisory). This decision, issued by the Division of Market Oversight (DMO) of the US CFTC, takes immediate effect and withdraws the previously issued guidance regarding swap execution facility (SEF) registration. The US CFTC’s SEF Registration Advisory was originally issued on 29 September 2021 to remind entities of their obligations under the United States Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and US CFTC regulations concerning swap execution facility (SEF) registration. The advisory clarified scenarios where certain swaps market participants might be required to register as SEFs based on their business models and trading functions. Division of Market Oversight of the US CFTC has now determined that the SEF Registration Advisory...

On 12 March 2025, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) upgraded their existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Financial Innovation, reaffirming their commitment to deeper collaboration in digital financial services, payment connectivity, and FinTech innovation. The exchange of the upgraded MOU was witnessed by Singapore Prime Minister His Excellency Lawrence Wong and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam His Excellency To Lam during the latter’s Official Visit to Singapore from 11-13 March 2025. The original MOU on Financial Innovation was first signed by MAS and SBV on 25 April 2018 in Singapore. The newly expanded agreement will enhance cooperation in digital financial innovation, payment system connectivity, and FinTech ecosystem development between the two nations. The upgraded MOU will facilitate joint digital innovation projects, foster cross-border payment integration, and provide regulatory support for FinTech...

On 12 March 2025, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the State Securities Commission of Viet Nam (SSC) have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to enhance collaboration in capital markets regulation and the digital asset regulatory framework. The LOI was exchanged during the Official Visit of His Excellency Communist Party of Vietnam General Secretary To Lam to Singapore from 11-13 March 2025, witnessed by Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. The agreement aims to protect the integrity and stability of the capital markets in Singapore and Viet Nam, while fostering cross-border connectivity. Under this partnership, both regulatory authorities will focus on capacity building, regulatory alignment, and anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CFT) initiatives. The LOI will facilitate mutual knowledge-sharing in regulatory frameworks for capital markets and digital assets for both nations. The LOI was signed on 12 March 2025 to strengthen regulatory...

On 11 March 2025, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) published a Press Release on the status of licences issued to portfolio managers and trustees, following the implementation of the Swiss Financial Institutions Act (FinIA). The release details the progress of applications submitted under the new licensing requirements introduced in January 2020. Since the entry into force of Swiss FinIA on 1 January 2020, portfolio managers and trustees operating commercially in Switzerland have been required to obtain a FINMA licence. A three-year transitional period was granted for existing institutions, concluding at the end of 2022. FINMA received 1,699 applications before this deadline and has since processed 94% of these applications by the end of February 2025. In total, 1,532 out of 1,864 applications submitted since the introduction of the requirement have been approved. 131 applications were withdrawn, while 94 remain under review, with half of these cases involving...

On 6 March 2025, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (HK SFC) has issued a public warning against Linkbex, an entity suspected of engaging in virtual asset-related fraudulent activities. The HK SFC stated that Linkbex falsely claimed affiliation with seven HK SFC-licensed corporations and misled investors by citing a fake anti-money laundering investigation by the regulator. In response to the suspected fraud, the Hong Kong Police Force has taken action at the HK SFC’s request to block access to Linkbex’s website. Linkbex and its website is added to the HK SFC’s Suspicious Virtual Asset Trading Platforms Alert List on 6 March 2025. (Source: https://apps.sfc.hk/edistributionWeb/gateway/EN/news-and-announcements/news/doc?refNo=25PR29)

On 6 March 2025, the Saeima of Latvia announced the re-election of Māris Kālis and Zita Zariņa for a second term as Members of the Council of Latvijas Banka. Under this decision, Māris Kālis’ term will extend until 12 March 2030, while Zita Zariņa’s tenure will conclude on 14 April 2030. Māris Kālis, is re-appointed as Deputy Governor, and will oversee financial stability, macroprudential supervision, financial investment management, market operations, financial planning, control systems, and human resource management. Zita Zariņa is responsible for cash and non-cash payments, the development of payment infrastructure, and the implementation of the digital euro project. She will also supervise innovation, data and statistics, audit, and information technologies. Before joining Latvijas Banka, Māris Kālis worked at Arthur Andersen, an international auditing and business advisory firm and has contributed to national and international projects, close collaboration with the European...

On 21 February 2025, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) released its latest update on jurisdictions under increased monitoring, commonly known as the ‘Grey list’. When the FATF places a jurisdiction under increased monitoring, it means the country has committed to resolve swiftly the identified strategic deficiencies within agreed timeframes and is subject to increased monitoring is referred as Grey list countries, they are actively working with the FATF and FATF-style regional bodies (FSRBs) to address strategic deficiencies in anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorist financing (CFT), and proliferation financing. The newly updated grey list by FATF, published in Paris, includes Algeria, Angola, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Kenya, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Mali, Monaco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, South Africa, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Venezuela, Vietnam, and Yemen. These jurisdictions are expected...