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2026 AML & sanctions compliance trends: Prepare for the decade ahead

01.13.2026 | Elizabeth Callan

As global financial crime threats intensify and regulatory scrutiny expands, traditional compliance models are reaching their limits.
In this forward-looking report, Elizabeth Callan AML & Sanctions Expert, Strategy and Innovation, SymphonyAI explores the critical trends, innovations, and strategic responses shaping AML and sanctions programs in 2026 and beyond.

Inside the report:

  • How AI is revolutionizing AML and sanctions programs
  • What regulators expect: effectiveness, not just technical compliance
  • New risk frontiers: real-time payments, digital assets, and geopolitical flashpoints
  • Balancing AI automation with human oversight
  • Preparing for sanctions evasion, complex typologies, and increased accountability

Discover vital intelligence to future-proof your program and learn how leading financial institutions are navigating geopolitical complexity, regulatory shifts, and AI transformation.

Download the report today!

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about the author
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Elizabeth Callan

AML | FinCrime | Sanctions Compliance & Risk Management SME

Elizabeth has spent more than 20 years tackling money laundering (ML) and financial crime. At SymphonyAI she drives the strategy and innovation that delivers transformational compliance solutions. Prior to SymphonyAI she worked within the U.S. intelligence and law enforcement communities. As a Senior Intelligence Analyst with the U.S. Department of the Treasury, she drove U.S. policy and enforcement actions and supported U.S. officials and policymakers, including at OFAC and FinCEN, on ML threats and sanctions initiatives. She also served as Treasury’s first Intelligence Liaison and Senior Advisor to DEA’s Special Operations Division, spearheading large-scale ML investigations and intelligence collection initiatives, training law enforcement agents and analysts, and promoting collaboration between Treasury and U.S. and foreign law enforcement. In the private sector, Elizabeth also worked within financial institutions and consulting managing investigations teams, developing risk management strategies for complex products and services, and designing institutional AML programs and controls. Elizabeth also teaches AML and sanctions courses at the university level.

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