The story of how proper compliance saves fintech from Multimillion-dollar losses

London, 3:00 a.m. Compliance officer Martin Steves nervously flips through the documents — tomorrow the regulator will announce a decision on a €3.5 million fine for AML violations. In the next office, Risk Director Anna Volkova is studying a report on the competitors' perfect system. "Where did we go wrong?" — a question that pierces the night.

Welcome to the world of AML compliance in 2025, where a mistake costs not only money, but also reputation. There are Guy Ritchie-worthy dramas here: chasing digital footprints, investigating suspicious transactions, and grappling with regulators.

Global fines for AML violations in 2024 amount to €6.6 billion. Regulators have introduced 800+ new rules, and the average cost of compliance is $28 million per company.

In Russia: IT fraud increased by 14.3% to 168 billion rubles, blocked foreign funds of Russians — 1.5 trillion rubles.

Brussels, European Commission. Director Patrick Dubois:

— The game has changed. Fines — up to 10% of the annual turnover.

Key changes:

• AMLD7 (EU): stricter verification of Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBO)
• UAE GoAML: expansion to real estate and valuable goods
• FinCEN (USA): new rules for digital assets
• FATF: updated definitions of PEPs

Real penalties 2024-2025:

• France, BRED Bank — €2.5 million for weak monitoring
• UK Commercial Banking — £3.5 million for bad KYC
• Austria — €2 million for AML violation

Singapore, a fintech company. CEO James Chen:

— The system processes 50,000 transactions per second with 99.7% accuracy. Not a single fine!

Success is based on:

, AI-driven risk scoring Real-time monitoring Integration with RegTech, Anti-counterfeiting biometrics

Moscow, a fintech startup. The CEO is shocked:

— We considered 115-FZ sufficient, but regulators want proactivity.

Typical errors:

❌ Formal KYC without deep verification❌ No real-time monitoring❌ Ignore nominal services❌ Lack of training

Tokyo. CTO Hiroshi Tanaka:

— Five fortress levels — five defense levels.

Level 1: Customer Onboarding

• AI-fake detection
• Biometrics with liveness detection
• Real-time sanctions lists
• Verification of sources of funds and PEP
• Screening of the adverse media

Level 2: Transactional monitoring

• Real-time screening
• Behavior analysis
• Comparison with laundering schemes
• Auto-blocking of suspicious
• Escalation of complex cases

Level 3: Periodic review

• Annual data update
• Reassessment of risks
• Property monitoring

Level 4: Reporting and auditing

• SAR reporting
• Full audit trail
• Integration with the regulator
• Preparing for audits

Level 5: Continuous improvement

• Algorithm updates
• KPIs and performance analysis
• Staff training
• Threat intelligence integration

Technology stack:

🤖 AI platforms: Didit, Jumio, Onfido🔍 AML screening: World-Check, Refinitiv📊 Monitoring: NICE Actimize, SAS AML🔐 RegTech: Compliance.ai , Sumsub

Cyprus, Limassol. Alexandra Petrova:

— Nominal services are no longer a "gray area", but part of a transparent structure.

Requirements:

• Disclosure of nominees
• Documenting credentials
• Audit trail of interactions
• Data confirmation

Due diligence:

• Verification of nominal licenses
• Reputation analysis
• Assessment of jurisdiction
• Monitoring of regulatory changes

The integration scheme:Real Client ↔ Nominee Service ↔ AML System

The success case:

International IT CompanyAccount opening in 15 jurisdictions with nominal directorsresults:

✅ 100% compliance✅ Reduced opening time by 60%✅ Zero violations in 2 years✅ Cost reduction by 40%

London, the same bank 6 months later.

— With AI monitoring and face value automation, the result is zero violations, a 35% reduction in costs and "excellent" from the regulator, — reports Martin.

Technology + Transparency + Proactivity = Competitive advantage

1-2 months:

• System audit
• Implementation of AI KYC/AML
• Team training
• Revision of nominal services

3-6 months:

• Automation of monitoring
• Integration with RegTech
• Continuous compliance system
• Preparing for the audit

6-12 months:

• Best practice status
• The compliance ecosystem
• Scaling
• Monetization of expertise

In 2025, there is no place for players who want to circumvent the rules — there are only those who build a transparent, technological system, and those who pay fines.

The story of Martin and Anna shows that the winner is not the one who cheats the system, but the one who makes it better.

The next move is yours. What role will you choose in this story?

The statistics and cases are based on data from EU, US, Asian regulators and research from leading fintech companies. All the characters and situations are an artistic generalization of real market practices.