The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK’s financial regulator, has revealed that firms shut down 238,396 suspected money mule accounts in 2025.
Its research also shows that organised criminal gangs continue to route illicit funds through chains of bank accounts before withdrawing the cash.
The FCA’s multi-firm survey tracked a steady rise in closures over three years. Firms closed 184,935 suspected mule accounts in 2023 and 233,269 in 2024, before reaching the 2025 figure. The regulator cautioned that this growth may stem from expanding customer bases and sharper detection, and does not necessarily indicate that mules now account for a larger share of firms’ customers.
Scale remains a pressing concern. According to National Crime Agency (NCA) estimates, over £100bn passes through the UK or UK corporate structures each year as laundered money. Criminals frequently rely on money mules, individuals whose accounts are used to receive or move funds for others, to shift these proceeds.
Breaking the data down by age, people between 26 and 39 accounted for the largest number of closures at 91,073. The fastest growth came from the 40 to 49 bracket, where closures climbed to 37,274 in 2025 from 25,760 the previous year. Those aged 25 or younger made up another substantial group, with 85,425 closures.
The survey found that fraudulent money typically travelled through several accounts, with withdrawals most often taking place somewhere between the second and fifth account in the chain. Tracing and spotting payments becomes considerably harder at that point, which underlines why firms must intervene at the earliest possible stage.
Certain accounts had been exploited for mule activity on multiple occasions before closure, and had also been linked to fraud. The regulator said this suggests a well-organised criminal network rather than isolated, one-off opportunism.
As part of the UK’s approach to economic crime, the FCA is working alongside the NCA, the Home Office, the Treasury, HMRC and industry on nine system priorities. On the money mules priority, the FCA is collaborating with firms on an action plan, which includes improving how firms and law enforcement exchange intelligence about suspected mule activity.
FCA executive director of enforcement and market oversight Steve Smart said, ‘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.
‘It’s good that financial firms are taking action on mules, but banks, law enforcement, technology companies and consumers all have a role to play in stopping people being drawn into criminal activity.’
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