FCA reports surge in Money Mule Account closures to combat £100bn laundering crises

UK financial firms shut 238,396 accounts suspected of being used by money mules during 2025, according to survey data released by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The total has risen every year, from 184,935 closures in 2023 and 233,269 in 2024. The regulator cautions that part of the increase may reflect growing customer numbers and better detection, but says the figures still show how deeply mule activity is embedded in the banking system.

Customers aged 26 to 39 accounted for the largest share of closures at 91,073, with those aged 25 and under close behind at 85,425. The fastest growth was among 40 to 49 year olds, where closures climbed from 25,760 in 2024 to 37,274 in 2025.

The FCA also examined how criminals cash out. Stolen funds are usually passed along a chain of accounts and tend to leave the system somewhere between the second and fifth account, by which point they are far harder for firms to spot and trace. Many accounts were used repeatedly for both muling and wider fraud, pointing to an established criminal infrastructure and not one-off incidents.

Steve Smart, the FCA’s executive director of enforcement and market oversight, stressed that money muling is a crime with real victims, and warned that anyone who agrees to move money through their account after an unexpected approach risks prosecution. The National Crime Agency estimates that more than £100 billion is laundered through the UK or UK corporate structures each year.

Article Credit: https://ffnews.com/news/embargoed-until-00-01-wednesday-23-september-2026-firms-turn-the-screw-on-money–daa657db