Financial Crime Developments, Resources and Stories: February 2026 Edition

February 26, 2026
3 min read

Welcome to the February 2026 summary of news you can use as your bank or other financial institution attempts to stay up to date on the world of BSA/AML compliance. Our monthly series of curated news about FinCrime regulatory developments, resources, and stories.

In this edition, three main stories emerge:

FinCEN proposes rare rule to ban MBaer Merchant Bank AG from the US financial system
BOK proposes limiting stablecoin issuance powers exclusively to licensed commercial banks
HM Treasury issues guidance on use of digital identities for customer identity verification

FinCEN proposes rare rule to ban MBaer Merchant Bank AG from the US financial system

On February 26, 2026, the US Treasury, via FinCEN, issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that finds MBaer Merchant Bank AG (MBaer), a financial institution based in Switzerland, to be of primary money laundering concern.

At the heart of the issue is the accusation by Treasury that MBaer supported illicit actors linked to Iran, Russia and Venezuela, including money laundering on behalf of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The special rule proposed by FinCEN, if approved, will:

Prohibit U.S. financial institutions from opening or maintaining a correspondent account for, or on behalf of, MBaer.

Require U.S. financial institutions to take reasonable steps not to process a transaction for the correspondent account in the United States of a foreign banking institution if such a transaction involves MBaer.

Require U.S. financial institutions to apply special due diligence to their foreign correspondent accounts to guard against their use to process transactions involving MBaer.

BOK proposes limiting stablecoin issuance powers exclusively to licensed commercial banks

On February 23, 2026, as part of its soon-to-be finalized digital asset regulatory framework, the Bank of Korea (BOK) reiterated its 2024 recommendation that the issuance of won-denominated stablecoins should be limited exclusively to licensed commercial banks. The central bank argues that commercial banks already operate under strict anti-money laundering frameworks. Therefore, the existing supervisory structure makes banks the most suitable entities to manage stablecoin-related risks.

BOK warns that allowing non-bank entities to issue won-backed stablecoins would introduce additional oversight complexity and introduce new vulnerabilities to the nations financial system.

HM Treasury issues guidance on use of digital identities for customer identity verification

On February 26, 2026, the UK’s HM Treasury clarified how digital verification services can be used for identity verification checks required under the UK Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs). In order to be used for these checks, digital verification services must be on the GOV.UK Register of services certified against the UK digital verification services trust framework.

The new guidance supplements (but does not supersede) obligations under the MLRs. The guidance is useful for firms regulated under the MLRs, as well as for sector guidance bodies, who may now wish to consider whether any updates to their own guidance are appropriate.