Firms crack down on money mules but need to do more
Why this matters
This is an FCA enforcement update based on a multi-firm survey of 35 institutions covering retail banks, building societies, challenger banks, payment institutions and e-money institutions. It reports findings on money mule account closures (238,396 in 2025), criminal cash-out patterns, and establishes a public/private cell with 22 regulated firms. The FCA is working with industry on an action plan to improve detection and intelligence-sharing. This represents a significant regulatory signal on AML/financial crime priorities affecting multiple firm types, warranting high urgency and a significance score of 4.
AI-generated classification rationale, not a full analysis. Verify with the original FCA source before acting. Full disclaimer.
What the FCA said
Financial firms are shutting down hundreds of thousands of suspected money mule accounts, but organised criminal groups are still shifting dirty money through multiple bank accounts before cashing out. An FCA survey found firms have closed an increasing number of suspected mule accounts over the last 3 years: 238,396…
Extract from FCA . Read the full notice at the source for the authoritative text.
Context
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) — UK financial services regulator. We track 425 updates from them.
Financial services regulation in the UK, primarily overseen by the FCA and PRA. Browse all United Kingdom updates.
This update is classified under AML / Financial Crime, Consumer Protection / Conduct, Banking & Credit and Payments & E-Money.