ACTIVITIES AND SPECIFIC SECTORS
A sector is a starting signal, not a diagnosis. AML scope changes with activities performed, role, payments, customers, jurisdictions and applicable thresholds.
CHOOSE YOUR ACTIVITY
Transferable value, cash, resale and the provenance of goods call for attention to the actual transaction.
Explore this sectorBuyers, sellers, corporate structures, beneficial owners and source of funds can make a transaction less ordinary.
Explore this sectorCounterparties, trade routes, jurisdictions, documents and the consistency of fund flows need to be examined together.
Explore this sectorA sector name alone cannot determine duties or exposure: the real activity, role and jurisdiction matter.
Describe your activityCustomer, beneficial owner, counterparty and actual role.
Goods, services, amount, method and purpose.
Countries, supply chain, origin and destination of funds.
Cash, intermediaries, companies, crypto or other channels.
SITUATIONS YOU MAY RECOGNISE
Three cross-sector examples showing how an AML issue often starts with an operational detail, not a label.
The buyer is a company, beneficial ownership sits behind several layers and part of the funding comes from another party.
Resources intended for a project are quickly moved towards parties or purposes that appear inconsistent with the programme.
An urgent request apparently from a senior or trusted person is reinforced by convincing messages and synthetic voice.
Scenarios combine patterns documented by FIUs, FATF and European authorities with illustrative professional situations.
A REAL CASE, A PRACTICAL QUESTION
On 26 February 2026, Europol reported seven arrests following action in four countries. Investigators connect suspected cocaine proceeds with shell companies, false invoicing and luxury investments; properties exceeding €5 million were seized on the French Riviera. The release does not announce a conviction.
What to checkCompare purchaser, paying company, asset user and source of funds. Title and an available bank balance do not by themselves explain how wealth was accumulated: which intermediate steps remain unsupported?
Connect wealth, structure and payment →On 23 July 2026, the US Department of Justice announced charges in a multi-state deed-fraud scheme: suspects allegedly impersonated out-of-state owners to list and sell properties, with about USD1.5 million attributed to one defendant. The matter was at the charging stage.
What to checkIn a property file, a coherent-looking document and face are not enough. Connect identity, title, authority to dispose, contact channel and destination of funds. Independent verification can break the chain before transfer.
U.S. Department of Justice · 23.07.2026 ↗
Connect identity, authority and flows →Cases reflect the status reported in the cited release. Practical questions are professional applications: no indicator alone establishes wrongdoing or automatically determines reporting, refusal or approval of a transaction.
FROM SIGNAL TO ACTION
Identify which duties require a more precise examination.
Organise due diligence, risk, records and training around the actual activity.
Establish whether AML, legal, tax or coordinated support is needed.
Guidance depends on applicable law and does not replace advice on the specific case.
The selection of 40 entities for ordinary direct supervision concerns financial entities. For other activities, supervisory convergence and the rules relevant to their own work matter most.
Explore the practical impact
