Government inaction needed to stop young people recruited into “money-muling” in London

Len Duvall AM, Labour London Assembly Member, has called on the Government to get a grip on street-level money laundering, particularly young people who are drawn into becoming “money mules”, moving the proceeds of crime through their bank accounts in return for a cut. 

He has raised concerns the marked increase in the use of money-muling1 following warnings from the police that it can create pathways into other areas of serious criminality.2 The National Crime Agency (NCA) estimates that £10billion is laundered this way each year3, saying that 6 in 10 money mules are under the age of 30, with most of these recruited between the ages of 17 and 24 while attending school or university.4  

Young people’s desire to become financially independent is often leveraged by criminals to exploit them. Assembly Member Duvall has warned that the rising cost-of-living under the Government risks more young people falling victim to criminal manipulation. 

Mr Duvall also highlighted that those laundering money can do so outside of big financial institutions, instead being based in local communities across London – with vulnerable communities seeing it fuel drug dealing, weapons and a loss of community safety. 

London high streets have seen a marked increase in sham store fronts which are used to “wash” money from drugs, weapons and human trafficking so that it appears to have been obtained legitimately. In mid-January, a man was convicted for money laundering from an office block in Wood Green. Asghar Gheshalghian operated a rug company as a front for money laundering activities and he has been convicted for knowingly running an unregulated money service business to help criminal gangs trafficking people into the UK, putting the public at risk from organised crime from behind his sham business5. 

Others carry out money-laundering online. In Lewisham, a borough represented by Mr Duvall, Mark Swain was sentenced to four years imprisonment for laundering £900,000 through a Business Email Compromise attack in 2021. Attacks like this can be carried out in the community and can lead to significant financial losses from community members’ bank accounts. 

While £300 million has been intercepted from launderers since 2021, Police have said that officers are only “scratching the surface” but further funding in this area is needed to protect the public.6 Police have warned that poor staff retention impacts the action that can take with officers often taking better-paid roles in the private sector.7 

Mr Duvall has called for the Government to get a grip on the community-level instances of money-laundering, demanding that: 

1. Government raise awareness of the dangers of money-muling, particularly to young people in London and greater regulation of “get-rich-quick schemes” that trick young people into muling money. 

2. The Met and MOPAC to encourage reporting of suspected money-laundering or money-muling schemes that are seen on social media, especially those targeted at young Londoners. 

3. Greater support for the Police’s economic crime forces to avoid staff attrition and retain expertise in London’s anti-laundering policing. 

In the UK alone over £100 billion pounds is laundered every year through the UK or through UK corporate structures, much of which passes through London. The Mayor’s Police and Crime Plan 2022-25 has a focus on efforts to tackle economic crime, including highlighting the lack of transparency in ownership of UK property that could be aiding tax evasion and avoiding sanctions regimes. 

Labour London Assembly Member for Greenwich and Lewisham, Len Duvall OBE AM, said: 

“Money laundering doesn’t just affect big financial institutions and international businesses. It affects our communities – whether that is the safety of our loved ones or the health of our high streets. 

“It’s shocking to discover that young Londoners are being targeted into being money mules for international criminals. The Government must give young people the information they need to stay vigilant against predatory ‘get-rich-quick' schemes that could see them drawn into serious crime. 

“On top of this, we must support our police forces to protect Londoners against the community-level impacts of money laundering. Greater funding for the London's police force is a good place for the Government to start with this and I urge them to work with the Metropolitan Police to ensure anti-laundering experts stay in the force.”