More than 500 anti-money laundering cops to be rolled out as Mahmood takes aim at dirty money
More than £100 billion may be laundered through the UK or UK corporate structures each year.
Five hundred investigators focusing on money laundering will be recruited over the next three years under a Home Office drive.
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The new jobs will be spread across the National Crime Agency (NCA), police forces including the City of London and Metropolitan Police, and Crown Prosecution Service as part of efforts to stem the flow of criminal money.
Fresh laws to help seize criminal assets could also be introduced as the new strategy warns “the threat has changed” with AI and crypto-enabled activity increasing the risks surrounding laundering.
According to the NCA, more than £100 billion may be laundered through the UK or UK corporate structures each year.
The threat has increased in recent years from the rise of fintech, crypto and AI, which the Government acknowledges is “creating new money-laundering risks”.
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But the plan also commits to using AI in efforts to tackle criminal networks, including by processing large datasets and spotting “suspicious patterns”, arguing the technology presents a “significant opportunity” in the right hands.
This could include using open source intelligence to identify online activity and chatbot tools to engage offenders to gather intelligence on methods and networks, the strategy says.
This work will be carried out by a new National Financial Intelligence Service (NFIS) based within the NCA and supported by the Financial Conduct Authority, according to the document.
The 500 new jobs are being created as part of the new £500 million government anti-money laundering and asset recovery strategy.
Kingpins overseeing the most harmful activity will be their key focus, with the creation of a new national intelligence service dedicated to cutting off the cash that fuels drug-trafficking and people-smuggling, officials said.
They add to a workforce of 145,886 police officers in England and Wales as of March 2026, and 81,296 staff and designated officers. The NCA had 6,120 officers.
Ministers will also consider whether further legislative change is needed to combat the changing threats by consulting on potential new powers expanding on the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, which is used to recover assets.
“Criminals now use more complex laundering methods, including digital assets, and operate through sophisticated, cross-border networks,” the strategy says.
“This can make it hard to prove criminality or intent, especially where key evidence sits overseas in jurisdictions that will not co-operate.”
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “We are putting 500 more officers on the trail of dirty money, going after the criminal bosses behind organised crime and stripping them of the funds they use to fuel drug trafficking, people smuggling and other serious crime.
“By going after the profits of Britain’s biggest gangs, we will break their grip on our communities, put the money back in victims’ pockets and ensure crime does not pay.”
The officers will carry on the work started by the NCA with its Operation Destabilise, which exposed a multibillion-dollar money laundering network run by two Russian millionaires.
The investigation led to 119 arrests and the seizure of more than £25 million in cash and cryptocurrency in less than a year.
Sal Melki, deputy director for economic crime at the National Crime Agency, said: “Financial crime is a corrosive threat that harms our communities and economy.
“It puts money in the hands of those that traffic, abuse, scam and corrupt.
“It undercuts legitimate business, deprives our public services and furthers the interests of nations hostile to the UK and our way of life.”
Police are to get beefed up powers to shut “dodgy” vape shops, barbers and nail salons for up to a year, amid concerns that some cash-rich businesses could be used for money laundering.
Joshua Nicholson, head of housing and communities at the Centre for Social Justice, said: “Across the country, criminal gangs have been able to get away with laundering their dirty money in plain sight.
“Facilitated by the thousands of dodgy vape shops, mini marts, and barbers on our high streets, these criminals are tearing apart once proud communities.
“We welcome efforts to go after the bosses who have hijacked our high streets.
“By restoring strong enforcement and clear consequences for crime, we can bring back hope to our communities and make them safe once more.”