In short
- Financial Conduct Authority surveyed 35 retail banks, building societies, challenger banks, payment institutions and e-money institutions.
- Financial Conduct Authority established a public/private cell in 2025 with 22 regulated firms, looking at 140 cases and 7 types of fraud.
What happened
The Financial Conduct Authority reported that financial firms closed 238,396 suspected money mule accounts in 2025, a significant increase from previous years. The FCA survey covered 35 institutions and highlighted that account closures were highest among customers aged 26 to 39, with 91,073 closures, and a sharp rise among those aged 40 to 49.
Criminals are moving fraudulent funds through multiple accounts, often cashing out between the second and fifth account, making detection harder. The FCA, NCA, Home Office, Treasury, and industry are working on 9 system priorities, including an action plan to improve intelligence sharing on suspected money mule activity.
Money muling is a crime and it's not victimless. It makes it harder to recover stolen cash and helps criminals move and hide the proceeds of serious offending. People should be wary of contact out of the blue, including via online channels, asking them to funnel money through their account as they could face prosecution.
In numbers
- 238,396 suspected money mule accounts closed in 2025
- 184,935 suspected money mule accounts closed in 2023
- £100bn estimated laundered through UK or UK corporate structures each year
What compliance teams should check
- Review the FCA's multi-firm review: Money mules: mule activity and cashing out findings.
- Assess use of the National Fraud Database (NFD) and money mule detection tools as referenced by the FCA.
- Monitor participation in the FCA's public/private cell established in 2025, which examined 140 cases and 7 types of fraud.
Why it matters
This story highlights the scale and complexity of money mule activity in the UK, with hundreds of thousands of accounts closed and criminals using multiple accounts to obscure illicit funds. The FCA's findings underscore the need for early detection, improved intelligence sharing, and targeted action plans. Compliance officers must adapt to evolving typologies, leverage detection tools, and collaborate with regulators and law enforcement to disrupt established criminal infrastructures and prevent financial crime.
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