12 Money Laundering Red Flags Finance Teams Must Watch in 2025
The 2025 Threat Landscape
Regulators levied US $4.6 billion in AML fines across 52 enforcement actions in 2024, a 31 % year-on-year jump.
The EU’s new single-rulebook AML package entered into force in June 2024, and the EBA began consulting on technical standards in March 2025.
Meanwhile, FATF’s July 2024 virtual-asset update spotlights the abuse of “off-ramp” exchanges, and its Feb 2025 grey-list added Kenya and South Africa.
12 Priority Red Flags (Jan–Apr 2025)
| # | Red-Flag Indicator | % of Shufti SARs* | Practical Detection Control |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rapid fiat ⇄ crypto swaps via unregistered VASPs | 22 % | Blockchain analytics + VASP risk scoring |
| 2 | Incoming wires from newly grey-listed jurisdictions | 14 % | Weekly geo-risk hot-list refresh |
| 3 | Large cash deposits followed by same-day withdrawals | 11 % | Cash-in/out velocity rules |
| 4 | Multiple small transfers (structuring) below €9 900 | 9 % | Smurfing threshold aggregation |
| 5 | Accounts with no known income receiving high-value credits | 8 % | KYC-income mismatch alert |
| 6 | Dormant accounts that suddenly spike in volume | 7 % | Behavioural-baseline ML models |
| 7 | Use of shell companies in non-co-operative offshore havens | 6 % | UBO verification + KYB screening |
| 8 | Round-number transactions near month-end | 5 % | Heuristic rule + peer-group outlier scoring |
| 9 | Immediate movement of loan proceeds to third-party accounts | 5 % | Loan-to-transaction reconciliation |
| 10 | Frequent incoming payments with identical references | 4 % | Reference-field similarity clustering |
| 11 | Repeated failed KYC due to forged documents | 5 % | Forensic doc verification + liveness |
| 12 | High-risk customer using multiple accounts for one IP | 4 % | Device-fingerprint & IP correlation |
Red-Flag Deep Dives & 2025 Fixes (selected)
1 Rapid Fiat ⇄ Crypto Swaps
FATF warns criminals exploit lightly-regulated “off-ramp” exchanges. Require blockchain-forensics screening and source-of-funds evidence for swaps >$5 000.
2 Grey-Listed-Jurisdiction Inflows
After Kenya & South Africa joined FATF’s list (Feb 2025), update geo-risk models via API within 24 h and push EDD triggers automatically.
3 Cash-In / Cash-Out Chains
Combine deposit-velocity rules with ATM/cash-logistics feeds to validate legitimate demand.
(Continue concise 2–3-sentence controls for flags 4-12.)
Key Regulatory Changes (Aug 2024 – Mar 2025)
- EU AML Single-Rulebook & AMLA – package published June 2024; EBA RTS consultation launched 6 Mar 2025.
- U.S. Corporate Transparency Act (Beneficial Ownership) – Supreme Court allowed enforcement to proceed, Jan 23 2025.
- FATF R.15 Virtual-Asset Update – stricter Travel-Rule timelines (July 2024).
People Also Ask – Quick Answers
Q: Most common 2025 red flag?
A: Rapid crypto-fiat swaps via unregistered exchanges.
Q: How to spot structuring?
A cluster of sub-threshold transfers (e.g., six × €9 800 within 24 h).
Q: Which sectors took the biggest AML fines in 2024?
Banking (US $3.2 bn), crypto (US $86 m), gambling (US $69 m).
Key Takeaways
- Crypto off-ramps dominate SARs — tighten VASP due-diligence.
- Dynamic jurisdiction risk scoring is essential with new FATF grey-listings.
- Hybrid analytics (rules + behaviour models) catch evolving patterns.
- Regulatory momentum (EU AML package, U.S. BOI) keeps fines high—$4.6 bn in 2024.
About the Author
Paul Keene is Marketing Director at Shufti and has spent 12 years helping banks and fintechs strengthen AML and fraud-risk frameworks.
References
- Fenergo, AML Enforcement Action in 2024: $4.6bn in Global Fines (Feb 2025).
- FATF, Targeted Update on Virtual Assets & VASPs (July 2024).
- FATF, Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring (21 Feb 2025).
- EBA, Regulation 2024/1620 & RTS Consultation (Jun 2024 / Mar 2025).
- Reuters, U.S. Supreme Court Allows CTA to Take Effect (23 Jan 2025).
- ComplyAdvantage, The Biggest AML Fines in 2024 (Mar 2025).
- Shufti Transaction Trust Screening internal dataset (Jan–Apr 2025).
