77pc of Irish compliance professionals in Ireland’s financial organisations say money laundering activity affecting the financial system has increased over the past two years. According to new research from the Compliance Institute, the professional body for compliance professionals in Ireland, there is general consensus among industry experts that financial crime criminals are quickly moving away from cash towards digital and crypto-based methods to move illicit funds.
The Compliance Institute surveyed 125 compliance professionals working primarily in Irish financial services organisations nationwide, on the scale and nature of money laundering risk they are seeing.
Highlights from the Compliance Institute survey include:
- 77pc of respondents said money laundering activity has increased over the past 12-24 months to varying degrees - a quarter (25pc) describing the increase as “significant”
- Just over 1/5 said they haven’t seen a significant change. And fewer than 1pc said they’d seen a decrease
- When asked “Which of the following best reflects how money laundering methods are changing in Ireland?” , the vast majority (70pc) said laundering methods are becoming increasingly digital, while 13pc believe it’s now a combination of cash-based and digital methods with no clear dominant shift either way
Commenting on the findings, Michael Kavanagh, CEO of the Compliance Institute,
“Financial crime remains one of the most persistent threats facing the financial system. It can have huge repercussions for economic growth and stability, as well as for the financial wellbeing of consumers and businesses. It erodes public trust in financial institutions and markets.
Our survey shows that money laundering has emerged as a key element of the defining financial crimes shaping today's financial landscape. As criminal networks increasingly abandon cash in favour of digital payments, fintech platforms and cryptoassets, the methods used to conceal illicit funds are becoming more sophisticated, and are presenting growing challenges for firms, regulators and law enforcement.
The findings also reflect a wider trend seen in official figures. Gardaí dealt with almost 2,800 money laundering offences last year, a sharp increase from fewer than 1,000 cases in 2024, and a dramatic rise from the roughly 50 cases recorded annually less than a decade earlier, in 2017. This demonstrates both the accelerating pace of financial crime and the increasing pressure on authorities to keep up with these rapidly evolving criminal tactics.
These figures are stark. Anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism remain core pillars of financial crime prevention. Robust AML frameworks protect not just individual firms, but the integrity of the financial system as a whole. Ireland’s position as a major international financial centre means our institutions are an attractive target for those seeking to move illicit funds through the system, and it’s essential that firms continually assess and strengthen their controls in this area.
The same applies to financial sanctions compliance, which has become an increasingly complex and fast-moving area for compliance teams, particularly given the pace of geopolitical change in recent years”.
The Compliance Institute say their research is timely on the back of the launch of the Government’s National Risk Assessment on Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Proliferation Financing, alongside a new 30-point action plan aimed at strengthening the State's response to financial crime.
Mr Kavanagh spoke of the Government’s steps in this regard,
“The new action plan is definitely something to be welcomed – but the proof will be in its implementation. Financial sanctions compliance and AML/CFT frameworks can't be treated as a box-ticking exercise - organisations need to continually assess and strengthen their own controls, invest in the right systems, and ensure staff are properly trained to identify red flags”.
