Dublin-headquartered Fenergo, a provider of digital solutions for client lifecycle management (CLM), know your customer (KYC) and transaction monitoring, has released its annual findings on global financial institution enforcement actions.

New findings from Fenergo reveal that the value of penalties imposed on firms declined year-on-year by 18 per cent, but this reflects significant regional differences. In Singapore, for instance, enforcement action has intensified following a major money laundering scandal while France has become the second-largest enforcer globally.

Penalties for failing to comply with anti-money laundering (AML), KYC, sanctions and customer due diligence (CDD) regulations totalled $3.8 billion in 2025, down from $4.6 billion in 2024 and $6.6 billion in 2023, the research shows.

While global fines declined for a second consecutive year, enforcement activity diverged sharply by region. Fines issued by North American regulators fell by 58 per cent, while EMEA and APAC penalties rose by 767 per cent and 44 per cent respectively, driven largely by the conclusion of long-running investigations and intensified scrutiny in specific sectors.

Singapore has endured a number of money laundering scandals in recent years that came to light in court cases. As a result, regulators have tightened controls for establishing sources of wealth, for example, and this increases the time it takes for banks and others to onboard clients. This is a major pain point in the sector and not just for Singapore.

“In Singapore, enforcement action has intensified following a major money laundering scandal,” Rory Doyle, head of financial crime policy at Fenergo, said. “In response, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has tightened its focus on private banking and cross-border wealth flows, with a clear aim of positioning the city-state as a global leader in source of wealth (SOW) and source of funds (SOF) enforcement.”

“This reflects MAS’ broader ambition to strengthen trust in Singapore’s financial system and reinforce its position as a global wealth management hub while also making it clear that robust due diligence and ongoing monitoring is non-negotiable,” Doyle continued

This publication has spoken to a variety of firms, finding that vetting clients’ source of wealth is becoming ever more detailed and demanding. In Singapore, for example, the city-state’s major money laundering scandal of 2023 has prompted authorities to clamp down on suspected illicit financial flows. Unfortunately, it has also affected onboarding times.

The single largest penalty of 2025, at $985 million, was issued to a Swiss bank by French authorities in relation to AML failings, Fenergo continued. As a result, France became the second-largest enforcer globally ($1.11 billion) behind the US ($1.676 billion) – a dramatic increase from 2024.

Despite regulatory progress, digital assets firms remain overrepresented in major AML fines, reflecting the sector’s ongoing maturity challenges. Almost one quarter of the top 10 highest-value fines involve digital asset firms as rapid growth in transaction volumes and stablecoin usage has outpaced compliance capabilities. While progress in this sector is evident, compliance maturity still lags behind risk exposure, especially with the growing expectation that digital asset firms will adopt bank-grade AML controls.

“As enforcement rebounds in key jurisdictions, firms that fail to modernise their financial crime ecosystem will remain exposed,” Doyle said. “Those that prioritise investment in leading-edge technology with AI at the forefront, will be able to demonstrate robust AML controls and regulatory alignment while being far better positioned for the next wave of scrutiny.” See more about the fintech firm here, here and here.