2020 witnessed a flurry of anti-money laundering activity, with the issues and developments continuing to be global in scope. In the United States, suspicious activity reports, outlining transactions involving terrorism finance or other illegal activity, were leaked to the public. This sparked questions into the effectiveness of current anti-money laundering regime and suspicious activity report filing.

In the European Union, an action plan to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing was proposed, foreshadowing increased enforcement action and further regulation. The European Union also adopted a global human rights sanctions regime, highlighting the need for appropriate safeguards in compliance frameworks.