Signal Hundreds of billions of pounds likely laundered through the UK yearly

Summary

The report judges that, although exact figures are hard to calculate, hundreds of billions of pounds are probably laundered through the UK every year, citing the National Crime Agency's 2024 material. Illicit finance also covers businesses breaching UK government sanctions. London's position as a leading global financial centre makes it a prime target for people seeking to launder illicit funds or evade sanctions. Over the longer term, a fully cashless UK would make transactions harder to hide, but new forms of illicit finance could emerge using hard-to-trace cryptoassets. The report also links this to terrorism, since illicit finance channels continue to be exploited by terrorist organisations.