As the use of virtual assets accelerates worldwide, so too does their appeal to criminal actors looking to move money faster, hide transactions more effectively and stay one step ahead of enforcement authorities.

And it’s natural that when people discuss crypto-related crime, the focus is often on governments, regulators, law enforcement agencies and the private sector – crypto exchanges, financial institutions and blockchain intelligence firms.

Criminal assets can cross borders in hours, while international asset recovery often struggles to keep pace. The INTERPOL Silver Notice is designed to close this gap by enabling earlier identification and tracing of criminal assets across jurisdictions. Can this new instrument fundamentally change how law enforcement responds to the rapid flight of illicit wealth?

The fight against criminal misuse of cryptoassets enters its next chapter.

Join us on 15–16 September 2026 for the 10th Global Conference on Criminal Finances and Cryptoassets – held this year in Luxembourg at the European Convention Centre and online.

This landmark edition will be hosted by Luxembourg’s Bureau de gestion des avoirs (BGA), alongside the Basel Institute on Governance, Europol and UNODC as co-organisers.

By J. Edward (Ned) Conway, Executive Secretary, The Wolfsberg Group

As virtual assets move into the mainstream of traditional finance, tricky questions arise. What does a reasonable, risk-based control framework look like for banks that provide services to virtual asset service providers (VASPs)? And how can compliance teams strengthen private-to-private information sharing to better detect suspicious activity?

The 14th Public Edition of the Basel AML Index shows a world where money laundering risks are levelling out, with improvements in some high-risk countries balanced by declines in traditionally low-risk ones.

Developed and maintained by the Basel Institute on Governance since 2012, the Basel AML Index is an independent, data-based ranking and risk assessment tool for money laundering and related financial crime risks around the world.