Using the Post Office, Banks, NBSPs, MSBs, and CRYPTO, Professional enablers help launder £10 billion a year.

UK National Strategic Assessment 2025 of Serious Organised Crime

The National Crime Agency has published the National Strategic Assessment 2025 of Serious Organised Crime.

The assessment covers an overview of nine threat areas, as follows:-

According to the National Strategic Assessment 2025 of Serious Organised Crime, published by the National Crime Agency, the UK remains vulnerable to money laundering, particularly from illicit proceeds generated overseas.

Whilst there is nothing entirely new in the assessment, it may be time to refresh your firm's financial crime BRA/EWRA & CRAs.

To assist you, my initial takeaways are:-

1. Money laundered through the UK market is likely to have increased due to the growth in underlying criminal offences, such as drug supply.
1. Likely, the threat from drugs into the UK has increased in 2024, with OCGs collaborating to move larger shipments to the UK.
2. Criminals continue to supply heroin to the UK despite reduced opium products in Afghanistan and an increased use of Ketamine.
2. It is highly likely that over £12 billion of illicit funds are generated each year in the UK.
1. It is a realistic possibility that over £100 billion is laundered through and within the UK or UK-registered corporate structures each year.
3. It is likely that the fraud threat to UK individuals and businesses has increased since 2023, with estimated fraud levels returning to those last seen in 2019.
4. It is estimated that 67% of fraud reported in the UK is cyber-enabled, with authorised push payment frauds continuing to be driven by the abuse of online platforms.
1. Social media platforms are a key facilitator of authorised push payments frauds.
5. Accounts at UK banks and non-bank payment service providers continue to be exploited by money laundering networks, including those facilitating money mule activity.
6. Cash-intensive businesses, such as
1. Car washes, nail bars, and barber shops are used to introduce criminal cash into the financial sector,
2. Often via the everyday banking facility at the Post Office.
7. Money service businesses also continue to feature in investigations.
8. The use of cryptocurrencies for money laundering is well-established. Cryptocurrencies are used to launder the proceeds of fraud and cybercrime, as well as to facilitate the payment for drug importations.
1. The most seen cryptocurrencies in laundering are Bitcoin and Tether.
9. Money laundering networks operating in the UK are usually controlled from overseas.
1. International controller networks collaborate through informal value transfer systems.
10. It is likely that the already high threat from Chinese-speaking money laundering networks in the UK continues to grow.
1. Money laundering by Chinese-speaking OCGs in the UK is one of the highest ML risks, and Russian-speaking money laundering networks are a much larger problem than initially anticipated.
11. The scale of activity by the Russian-speaking money laundering networks investigated under Operation DESTABILISE is likely to be more significant than previously reported.
12. Serious organised crime linked to overseas actors is likely to have increased, with the assessment flagging Thailand, Vietnam, China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Albania
13. Increase in child abuse and exploitation with financially motivated sextortion being driven in particular by West African offending methodologies.

No changes

1. No evidence of substantial change in criminal activity to source and use firearms.
2. The fraud threat to UK individuals has unsurprisingly increased since 2023.

Here is the link –

• PDF - https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/images/campaign/NSA/2024/NSA%202025%20Website%20-%20PDF%20Version%20v1.0.pdf

WEBPAGES

• https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/nsa-2025
• https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/nsa-overview-of-soc-2025
• https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/threats-2025/nsa-csa-2025
• https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/nsa-tackling-the-threat-2025