Examples of compliance authorities by region

Illustrative, not comprehensive. The bodies and instruments below are examples of where to start when researching a jurisdiction; each country has additional supervisors, professional-body regulators, and sector-specific authorities not listed here. Always confirm the current regulator, instrument and version before relying on them in operational compliance.

International

• FATF — global AML / CTF standards.
• UN Security Council Sanctions Committees.
• Wolfsberg Group — industry-led good-practice guidance.
• Egmont Group — coordination forum for national FIUs.

Australia

• AUSTRAC — AML / CTF supervisor and FIU.
• DFAT — sanctions administrator.
• ASIC — corporate, markets and financial-services regulator.
• APRA — prudential regulator (banking, insurance, super).

United States

• FinCEN — AML regulator and FIU.
• OFAC — sanctions administrator.
• Federal banking regulators (OCC, FRB, FDIC, NCUA).
• SEC, CFTC, FINRA — markets-side AML supervision.
• BIS (Commerce) — export controls.
• State financial regulators (e.g. NYDFS) — additional AML and cyber rules.

European Union

• European Commission and Council — sanctions and AML legislation.
• EBA — AML guidelines for the financial sector.
• AMLA — incoming EU-level AML supervisor (operational from 2028).
• National FIUs and AML supervisors in each member state.

United Kingdom

• HM Treasury / OFSI — sanctions.
• FCA — financial-services AML supervision.
• HMRC — AML supervisor for MSBs, accountants, estate agents and others.
• NCA — recipient of SARs.
• Companies House — corporate transparency.
• Gambling Commission, Charity Commission, professional bodies — sectoral supervision.

Other regions (selected examples)

• Canada — FINTRAC; Global Affairs Canada (sanctions).
• Singapore — MAS.
• Hong Kong SAR — HKMA, SFC, JFIU.
• Switzerland — FINMA, MROS, SECO (sanctions).
• Japan — JFSA, METI.
• UAE — Central Bank, EOCN, MoE supervision of DNFBPs.

Open data and standards (examples)

• OpenSanctions — open dataset of sanctions, PEP and watchlist data.
• Open Ownership — global beneficial-ownership data standard.
• IVMS 101 — interVASP messaging standard for the travel rule.