Massive Crackdown on UK High Street Businesses Targets Money Laundering and Criminal Networks

In the UK’s largest-ever crackdown on money laundering, authorities have raided more than 2,700 high street businesses, including barbers, minimarts, vape shops, and takeaways. The month-long operation, part of the second stage of Operation Machinize, led to over 900 arrests and the seizure of more than £10.7 million in criminal assets, including millions in illegal tobacco, vapes, and cash.

These businesses, which have become increasingly prevalent on British high streets, are often exploited by criminal networks for a variety of illegal activities. According to the National Crime Agency (NCA), cash-rich establishments can serve as fronts for money laundering, hiding drug trafficking proceeds, smuggling illicit goods, and facilitating people trafficking. Some areas, like Essex and Doncaster, have seen a dramatic rise in the number of barber shops, with some locations experiencing a 200% increase over just five years.

The operation, which involved more than 1,000 officers, targeted not just the shops themselves, but the broader networks that use them to funnel dirty money into the economy. “Shops exploited by criminals can act as hubs for a range of poly-criminality. It could be a convenient place to launder money or evade tax,” explained Sal Melki, NCA's deputy director for illicit finance. “It could also be a convenient place to move illicit commodities, hide the proceeds of drug sales, or act as a meeting point for criminal associates.”

Among the items seized during the raids were 70kg of cannabis, £2.7 million in illegal goods, and high-value assets including gold bars and luxury watches, some of which were seized from a jeweller's shop allegedly used for investment fraud and money laundering. In total, the operation led to more than 450 companies being referred to Companies House for further investigation.

Rachael Herbert, director of the National Economic Crime Centre at the NCA, said: “Thousands of officers have been deployed up and down our country, targeting criminal profits and the means of generating them. Hundreds of thousands of harmful and illegal products have been taken off our streets, and over £10 million in cash, frozen bank accounts and criminal assets seized.” The operation also led to a significant disruption of illicit trade, with millions of pounds worth of illegal tobacco and vapes destroyed.

The crackdown has sparked concerns from senior politicians about the role these illegal businesses play in fueling organized crime and illegal migration. Following a BBC investigation into Kurdish crime fixers facilitating illegal working and criminal networks operating on UK high streets, 25 Labour MPs have called for tougher penalties and stronger legislative powers to shut down “dodgy shops.” Melanie Onn, MP for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes, is leading the push for new measures to tackle these issues head-on.

Home Office security minister Dan Jarvis also weighed in, saying: “Criminals are using these dodgy shops as fronts for serious organised crime, money laundering and illegal working, risking the future of the British high street. We have intensified our joint efforts with law enforcement to dismantle criminal networks and relentlessly pursue those who use dirty money for personal gain.”

This operation is the latest in a series of efforts to combat the growing threat of money laundering through everyday businesses, with the NCA estimating that up to £12 billion in criminal cash is laundered in the UK each year. With billions of pounds at stake, the fight to protect legitimate businesses and reduce criminal activity on the high street has never been more urgent.