Most money laundering arrests involve people under the age of 30

The majority of money laundering arrests involve people under the age of 30, new analysis has found.

The study, from academics at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) and Cardiff University, is the first to reveal the scale of money laundering offences across the UK.

Figures recorded by 36 police forces in England and Wales were obtained via Freedom of Information Act requests. The data and analysis reveals that 8,956 adults under 30 years-old were arrested for money laundering offences under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 between January 2020 to January 2025. In total for all age categories, there were 14,493 recorded money laundering arrests; this resulted in 7,735 charges.

Anonymous interviews and surveys with Regional Organised Crime Units and City of London Police reveal that students, particularly international students, are seen as particularly vulnerable to becoming recruited as money mules.

Money mules are individuals who transfer the proceeds of crime on behalf of criminals, often through a bank account, to disguise the source of the funds and complicate or frustrate investigation by law enforcement agencies.

The research highlights that higher education institutions are not included in the Money Laundering Regulations, which require organisations to report suspicions of money laundering and terrorist financing to the UK Financial Intelligence Unit at the National Crime Agency. Without being subject to this legal framework, the information being shared with law enforcement agencies is limited, academics say.

Co-author of the report Dr Samantha Mapston, of Bristol Law School at UWE Bristol, said: “This project demonstrates that money laundering enforcement more generally is concentrated, uneven, and resource-driven. Interviews reveal that the criminal justice system performs better in responding to simpler cases, while complex financial crime remains challenging. Ultimately, these findings highlight the need for greater consistency, capability, coordination and allocation of resources across jurisdictions in tackling money laundering, including in educational settings.”

Study lead Professor Nicholas Ryder, based at Cardiff University’s School of Law and Politics, said: “This study is the first to reveal the number of money laundering offences, which collectively include arrests and, charges, being recorded by police forces across the UK. Adults under 30 make up the largest proportion of arrests and our interviews with law enforcement officials suggests this is due to younger people being increasingly recruited as money mules. While it was not possible to identify the number of cases that involve students, there is a clear view among police officers that students are particularly susceptible, due to factors such as financial hardship, manipulation, and limited awareness. Significant efforts are therefore being undertaken by these teams to prevent and respond to offences involving students.

“But, despite this being a clear area of concern, the involvement of universities in alerting authorities to suspected money laundering is often perceived to be out of scope of the existing anti-money laundering legal framework. Law enforcement responses therefore concentrate on the involvement of individuals rather than institutions. The bigger picture relating to these sophisticated criminal networks is potentially being lost.”

While the analysis suggests offences are most common among people aged 18-29, people over 30 represent a substantial but secondary group. Under-18 involvement is less frequent across all forces.

There are also significant regional variations, with a clear concentration of activity in a small number of police force areas. At the highest end, Greater Manchester (570), Merseyside (566), and Leicestershire (485) stand out as the regions with the highest number of s.327 offences. These are followed by the Metropolitan Police (404) and Devon & Cornwall (327), with Kent (214) and West Yorkshire (200) also showing high figures.

The report notes that the 2025 National Risk Assessment by the Home Office and HM Treasury concluded that schools and universities represent an emerging vulnerability for money laundering because of their global reach, financial flows and comparatively weaker regulatory oversight.

The UK Fraud Strategy recognises that money mule networks are central to laundering fraud proceeds and the importance of educating students.

Publicly available data from the Ministry of Justice shows 108 children and 420 young adults (18-24) were convicted of money laundering offences in this same time period.

Nik Adams, Deputy Commissioner at City of London Police, who is also National Coordinator for Economic and Cyber Crime and National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) Lead for Financial Investigation and Asset Recovery, said: “We welcome this important report and its recommendations, which highlight the need for a more coordinated and consistent approach to tackling money laundering and money mule activity, particularly among young people.

“The findings reinforce the importance of prevention, partnership working and investment in specialist capability. We support the call for a national strategy, stronger collaboration between law enforcement, educational institutions and the financial sector, improved data sharing, and greater resources to tackle financial crime effectively.

“With victims at the heart of everything we do, protecting students from exploitation and disrupting criminal activity is key and requires a collective effort, and we look forward to working with partners across the UK to help deliver these recommendations.”