One of the United States largest banks agreed Thursday to pay federal regulators and authorities $613 million in a settlement for longstanding financial crime compliance deficiencies, including capping alerts on potential illicit activity and attempting to hide known weaknesses from examiners.

One of Netherlands largest banks must pay U.S. authorities nearly $370 million and plead guilty to obstruction charges for allowing its financial crime compliance program to flounder for more than a decade – and then lying to federal examiners about known gaps and high-risk practices.

Fewer fines are the silver lining of banks’ dogged compliance drive. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority collected 230 million pounds in penalties in 2017. Though that’s a big increase on 2016, the haul was skewed by a record fine for Deutsche Bank. It suggests heavy spending on tightening up controls is finally delivering some benefits.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP was negligent in connection with one of the biggest bank failures of the financial crisis, a federal judge has ruled, opening up the Big Four accounting firm to the potential of hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions last month directed a review of a law enforcement initiative targeting Hezbollah’s drug trafficking and related operations in the United States and abroad, to evaluate allegations that certain matters were not properly prosecuted.

A Turkish banker accused of helping Iran evade U.S. sanctions has been convicted by a jury in New York after a trial that sowed distrust between the two nations. The verdict came Wednesday at a trial where witnesses described corruption at the highest levels of Turkey's government, prompting its leaders to lash out at the U.S. prosecution.

Mexican prosecutors are failing to systematically punish money launderers and tax authorities are too lax with potential drug money fronts such as real estate and luxury goods firms, according to a draft report on Mexico’s efforts to fight illicit finance, another dour report on the country’s counter-financial crime efforts, where some fear it’s on the verge of a failed state.

Switzerland’s financial regulator said JPMorgan Chase’s Swiss subsidiary “seriously breached” anti-money laundering rules by completing transactions with a Malaysian government investment fund that is under investigation in at least six countries.