Banks shut more than 222,000 suspected money mule accounts in 2025

The Financial Conduct Authority says 35 surveyed firms offboarded 222,173 personal customers for suspected money mule activity last year — up 30.5 per cent compared with 2023 — but warns criminals are still moving stolen funds through the financial system.

More than 222,000 personal bank accounts were closed for suspected money mule activity in 2025, the Financial Conduct Authority has reported. The figure, drawn from a survey of 35 firms, was 4.4 per cent higher than in 2024 and 30.5 per cent higher than in 2023, the figures show.

A money mule is a person recruited by criminals to receive, move or withdraw illegally obtained money. The National Crime Agency estimates that more than £10 billion is laundered through mule activity in the UK each year, with criminals using linked personal and business accounts to disguise the origin of stolen funds and move them through complex transaction chains before cashing out.

The scale of the problem has grown sharply from an earlier baseline. The Home Office recorded more than 39,000 UK bank accounts showing behaviour indicative of money muling in 2022 — a figure that, compared with the 222,173 closures across just 35 firms in 2025, suggests the problem has expanded considerably, though the two datasets measure different things and can’t be directly equated.

Not everyone whose account is closed has knowingly committed an offence. Criminals recruit mules through fake job offers, social media approaches and promises of easy money — meaning some account holders are themselves victims of exploitation. But ignorance of the source of funds does not automatically protect someone from prosecution for money laundering, the FCA has made clear.

The warning signs are specific. High-value payments into new or previously dormant accounts, followed by near-identical debits shortly after, are a common pattern. Rapid transfers, international payments and quick cash machine withdrawals are also flagged by the FCA as indicators. Recruitment approaches often involve requests to use a personal account to move money, vague overseas “representative” roles, and offers that require bank details upfront — sometimes accompanied by poor spelling or grammar.

Banks face a practical problem: money moved quickly through multiple accounts becomes harder to freeze or recover, reducing the chances of victims getting their funds back. The FCA says firms should be using transaction monitoring and the National Fraud Database to identify and disrupt mule networks. The Government’s 2023 Fraud Strategy committed to a cross-sector mules action plan, though the 2025 closure figures suggest the problem has continued to grow since then.

Key information

• Anyone who suspects they have received criminal funds should contact their bank immediately
• Suspected fraud can be reported to Report Fraud
• The 222,173 account-closure figure covers 35 surveyed firms only and is not a complete count of all suspected mule accounts across the UK
• Legal consequences for money muling can include criminal prosecution, even where the account holder claims not to have known the source of the funds