Raids on money service businesses that ‘help launder drug profits’

The Metropolitan Police plans to raid 12 London money service businesses (MSBs) which are suspected of laundering cash for organised crime gangs.

The operations come on the first day of a week-long crackdown in the capital targeting the illegal practice.

Another 39 MSBs are set to be visited by officials to check they are complying with the law.

The Met claims a “significant” number of MSBs accept cash from drug dealers who take holdalls stuffed with notes there before the money is then flown abroad without leaving a paper trail.

Around £100bn per year is laundered through the UK, but it is not yet known how much goes through MSBs.

It is known they handle tens of billions of pounds each year, legitimately or otherwise, and that London covers around a fifth of the UK market.

Some of the laundered money is airlifted out to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

Detective Chief Superintendent Mick Gallagher said: “While the vast majority of these businesses are in place for a legitimate purpose and they serve a legitimate purpose, there are a significant number from our intelligence and information within law enforcement, that definitely aren’t there for a legitimate purpose.

“Money laundering is a big issue. Some of these businesses are seen as the launderettes.”

Mr Gallagher said that the drug gangs who use these services illegally are linked to street violence.

“Money drives drug dealing, drives violence,” he said.

“It doesn’t take too much of a leap of faith to understand the causal link between what goes on with young men stabbing each other, and some of the bigger serious and organised crime syndicates.

“The cash is the lifeblood of this. What we hope to do, if you choke off the ability to trade effectively, then you disrupt the network.

“Identifying MSBs that are part of the problem and taking them out of play will definitely disrupt in the short to medium term what the network looks like, and by so doing reduce the amount of drug dealing that’s going on.

“That in itself will disrupt the dealing network which should reduce the violence.”

(c) Sky News 2019: Raids on money service businesses that ‘help launder drug profits’