Large Criminal Activity
Large-scale money laundering crackdown hits high street businesses across UK
Nationwide raids targeting thousands of small businesses suspected of laundering drug money.
Authorities conducted extensive raids on around 2,700 high street premises including barbers, vape shops, minimarts, nail bars, car washes, takeaways, phone shops and sweet shops as part of the UK’s largest-ever money laundering crackdown. The operation forms the second stage of Operation Machinize, launched after the National Crime Agency concluded that illicit cash flows had reached a critical tipping point. Officials estimate that billions of pounds are laundered through the UK each year, with roughly £12 billion processed in cash, largely generated by the drug trade. The raids led to over 900 arrests, more than £10.7 million seized, and over £2.7 million in illegal goods destroyed. More than 450 companies were referred to Companies House for further investigation.
- Status
- active
- Location
- United Kingdom
- Date added
- 2026-03-29 19:46 UTC
- Last updated
- 2026-03-29 19:46 UTC
- Source
- https://www.dailymail.co.uk
- Connected threats
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- Not Available