Phantom hacker scam, Singapore police arrests two, AMEX fined, €2 million money laundering

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Brookfield man charged with money laundering 

On 6 October 2026, a man from Brookfield was sentenced to 84 months imprisonment for laundering more than $1 million illicit money gained from elderly victims who fell prey to a fraudulent scheme.

A man from Brookfield, Wisconsin was sentenced to 84 months imprisonment for laundering over $1 million from elderly victims who fell prey to a phantom hacker scam, a type of scam where elderly victims are commonly targeted. The scheme begins when fraudsters impersonate customer service representatives or government officials and falsely inform victims that their identities or bank accounts have been hacked and convince them to transfer their savings into secure accounts or hand over cash and physical gold for safekeeping. Investigations revealed that the man operated as a courier, personally collecting the money from elderly victims across several states. According to court documents, he conspired to launder the money by sending it to co-conspirators through anonymous transactions and the money was then transferred overseas.

Source: US Attorney Office

Two people charged over money laundering activities

On 1 October 2026, Kolkata police identified that ₹2.45 crore was deposited into 10 bank accounts with links to digital fraud and suspected money laundering. 

Singapore authorities have charged a Russian man and a Singaporean woman over their alleged involvement in money laundering and related financial crimes. Investigations revealed that the Russian national operated a corporate service provider in Singapore between 2020 and 2021, offering corporate secretarial services to local and international clients. During this period, he recruited the Singaporean woman to serve as director of several companies and subsequently took control of corporate bank accounts belonging to two companies. The accounts received several thousand dollars which were proceeds from fraud and investment scams. Both individuals face multiple charges including money laundering, forging documents and abetting unauthorised access to bank accounts.

Source: Singapore Police Force

American Express fined over AML compliance deficiencies 

US bank regulators fined American Express $350 million after finding deficiencies in their anti-money laundering (AML) program where they failed to adequately identify and report suspicious activity and implement appropriate customer due diligence practices.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has imposed a $350 million penalty on American Express National Bank for significant deficiencies in its AML compliance program in accordance with the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). Regulators also identified weaknesses in Customer Due Diligence (CDD) procedures, customer identification processes and failed to tailor its AML risk assessment to its business activities. Approximately $13 billion of suspected trade-based money laundering activity was not identified, evaluated or sufficiently reported in a timely manner.

Source: OCC

Fraudster jailed by the City of London Police for his role in money laundering

The criminal was involved in a €2 million money laundering scheme where he forged financial documents to facilitate the movement of criminal funds through multiple accounts.

The investigation, launched by the City of London Police in 2011, uncovered a money laundering operation involving approximately €2 million. Investigators discovered that the criminal used forged financial documents, including falsified bank statements and payslips, to open business bank accounts for receiving the stolen funds. Within days of receiving the funds, he transferred substantial amounts to accounts in the UK and overseas. However, banks identified suspicious transactions and prevented further transfers involving hundreds of thousands of pounds. Police uncovered altered passports, false identities and manipulated financial records, along with £55,000 in cash recovered from a safety deposit box. He was jailed after 15 years of committing the crime.

Source: City of London Police

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