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Penalties for Noncompliance: Don’t Misread the Dip

May 8, 2026 | 3 minutes reading time | By Jim Romeo

The billions that the financial industry pays for anti-money laundering and other infractions declined last year in North America, but the trend may not last. Europe, Asia and crypto are on the rise.

Is the financial industry getting a break from continuously climbing penalties for anti-money laundering and other compliance shortcomings? A top-line indicator suggests that it is, though it would be unrealistic to conclude that enforcement is easing up.

According to compliance and client-lifecycle management company Fenergo, global penalties for AML, know your customer (KYC) and customer due diligence (CDD) deficiencies totaled $3.8 billion last year. That was down from $4.6 billion in 2024 and $6.6 billion in 2023.

There were regional contrasts and nuances. The U.S. is the leading jurisdiction by this measure, even as fines there dropped by 61% in 2025. (North America as a whole was down 58%.) EMEA penalties jumped by 767%. APAC’s rise was 44%, in part because the Monetary Authority of Singapore is intent on projecting trust in the city-state as a financial center.

Rory Doyle

The fast-growing digital-asset segment is “over-represented” in Fenergo’s aggregate numbers. According to data compiled by Kroll from TRM Labs and other sources, laundered crypto-linked funds more than tripled between 2024 and 2025, to $158 billion...

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Topics: Regulation & Compliance, AML & Fraud

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