Government regulators around the world continue to intensify efforts against money laundering. In a first-of-its-kind case, Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority has shut down payment processor Euro Exchange Securities (EES) over concerns about potential financial crime activity.
The FCA ordered Euro Exchange Securities UK Limited to halt all regulated electronic money and payment services after identifying systemic weaknesses in the company’s financial crime controls, safeguarding arrangements, ownership structure, and governance. According to the regulator, these deficiencies posed risks to both consumers and the market integrity.
EES subsequently agreed that returning to normal operations was not in the company’s best interests. The company must now focus on returning customer funds as quickly as possible, the FCA said.
The case reflects growing cooperation among regulators and law enforcement agencies. The FCA worked alongside other UK authorities, including the Security Industry Authority, and many observers expect heightened anti-money laundering (AML) enforcement against payment firms to continue, particularly as cryptocurrency-related financial crime becomes more prevalent.
Multiple Firms Are Targeted
Euro Exchange provides a range of cross-border financial services, including multi-currency accounts, debit and prepaid cards, merchant services, and remittances. Because firms like EES sit at the center of international money flows, they have become a growing focusing for regulators seeking to combat money laundering and other financial crimes.
That scrutiny extends well beyond smaller payment providers. Earlier this month, prosecutors in Belgium said accounts linked to UK fintech Wise, a provider of low-cost international transactions, appeared in hundreds of criminal investigations spanning more than 30 European countries and involving roughly €500 million in transactions. Authorities said they are examining potential shortcomings in Wise’s compliance with AML requirements.
Crypto Fuels a Growing Problem
Regulators are responding to a problem that continues to grow in scale. Criminal organizations are estimated to launder as much as $2 trillion annually, with crypto increasingly playing a central role. Crypto-related money laundering reached at least $82 billion in 2025, up from roughly $10 billion in 2020.
As in the EES case, governments have been ramping up efforts and increasing their collaboration in order to keep up. Late last year, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), worked with the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office to dismantle China’s Huione Group, which authorities accused of laundering roughly $4 billion tied to digital asset scams.
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