By Paul Cottee, Director, Regulatory Compliance, NICE Actimize.
A common question has arisen in recent conversations and at conferences. Now that major U.S. regulators have new leaders and enforcement heads in place, will enforcement actions slow down both in the United States and around the world? In other words, can financial institutions ease surveillance efforts?
The answer so far is clear: unlikely. Bloomberg Law recently reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission filed 44 enforcement actions between Jan. 20 and June 30, 2025, compared to 48 during the same period in 2024. The focus appears to be shifting. The SEC seems to be dropping some cases, potentially leading to fewer enforcement actions related to regulatory oversight in digital assets, while continuing to prioritize investor protection. This means firms should not assume they can get away with market manipulation. Enforcement cases are not disappearing and may even increase at both the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Self-regulatory organizations such as FINRA and the National Futures Association remain active as well.
The same pattern is evident elsewhere. For example, the Monetary Authority of Singapore recently fined and banned nine financial institutions and several individuals for failures in their anti-money laundering programs.
In the United Kingdom, the Financial Conduct Authority has been very active this year. It fined a bank 21 million pounds for inadequate financial crime controls, prosecuted individuals for fraud and insider dealing, and imposed bans on several high-profile figures, including a former bank CEO and a hedge fund CEO, for market manipulation, insider trading and making misleading statements. The FCA is also taking international action against influencers who spread financial advice across multiple jurisdictions. Its workload may grow further following recent clarifications of expectations around misconduct, including bullying and harassment.
India’s Securities and Exchange Board recently banned a large global trading firm from accessing Indian markets and required it to pay more than $500 million into an escrow account, accusing it of market manipulation. Several individuals involved in pump-and-dump schemes have also been fined and banned, including former bank executives accused of insider trading.
Australia’s ASIC has prosecuted individuals involved in pump-and-dump schemes, while Japan’s Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission has filed charges against traders for insider dealing. Malta’s Financial Services Authority identified risks and gaps in the market abuse controls of CFD brokers, indicating increased scrutiny of that sector. Canadian regulators have also fined individuals and a large investment firm for market abuse and anti-money laundering failures.
This list is not exhaustive, but the point is clear: the first half of 2025 has not seen regulators easing up. While there may be shifts in focus or methods, global regulators remain committed to promoting market integrity and fighting market abuse, money laundering, fraud and other financial crimes and misconduct. They expect firms to be proactive in detection and prevention. In fact, with budgets under pressure, regulators may rely more on firms to do additional surveillance work themselves.
The key takeaway is that now is definitely not the time to cut back on investing in effective surveillance capabilities. Regulators certainly are not easing up, and as they become more familiar with new technologies, their expectations will likely continue to grow. Firms should be prepared to meet those expectations head-on.
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