The UK government will hire 500 fraud-busters as part of a £500 million crackdown on money laundering through Post Offices and high street shops, targeting organised crime kingpins who channel profits to countries such as Russia, ministers announced on September 15, 2026.
Security Minister Dan Jarvis and Treasury Minister Lucy Rigby unveiled the new Anti-Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Strategy during a visit to the National Crime Agency (NCA). The briefing, exclusively attended by Metro, identified Post Offices as a 'key vector' for sending dirty money and linked them to 'hostile state actors' operating in the UK.
Post Offices as a 'major vulnerability'
Since 2017, post office branches have been able to accept cash deposits on behalf of banks, but with less rigorous checks. This makes it easier for drug dealers and other criminals to pay in their profits, often by splitting large amounts into multiple smaller deposits and using different accounts.
Ministers were told these weaknesses meant post offices posed a 'major vulnerability' in stopping criminal cash flowing through Britain's high streets. The NCA has estimated that at least £12 billion in criminal cash is generated and laundered in the UK each year.
High street hotspots identified
The High Street was described as a 'key vector' for these illicit laundered profits. Barber shops were thought to be the hub of this criminal activity, but officers discovered that a wide range of stores, from petrol stations to vape shops, are involved. The Post Office was also described as a particular target for powerful money laundering networks linked to hostile state actors.
Officers have identified three hotspot regions where criminal cash is circulating on the high streets: Greater Manchester, the West Midlands, and the counties of Kent and Essex. These areas are the main focus of the High Street Organised Crime Unit, which was launched in May to crack down on laundered cash.
Government strategy and arrests
Jarvis told Metro: 'It's important that people understand that the UK is being made into a much harder target. Kingpin figures thinking they can come and wash their money in the way they've done previously in the UK, they should understand there will be serious consequences for their criminality. Stay away from the United Kingdom because we will catch you, we will bring you to justice, and we will prevent you from carrying out your criminal activity.'
Ministers were also briefed about efforts to destabilise powerful Russian money laundering networks. Officers have already arrested more than 100 drug couriers connected to large-scale investigations into these transnational groups. The NCA is also setting up a Financial Intelligence Service to improve co-operation with banks, so that officers can better track laundered money moving around the UK.
Part of the funding for the new strategy will come from £350 million stripped from criminals in the past year. The government says it stopped £1 billion of dirty money being moved, disrupted 2,700 illicit finance operations, and returned £26 million to victims as laundering convictions hit 4,000. Additionally, £1 million was stripped from people smugglers and immigration offenders, depriving criminal gangs of funds to pay for more illegal crossings.
Rigby told Metro: 'We know that money laundering funds some of the most serious crimes that we face in this country, from hostile state activity at one end through to fraud and people smuggling. That's exactly why we've wanted to do as much as we can to clamp down on it.'
Expert and Post Office responses
Criminologist Prof Emmeline Taylor called the strategy 'significant', adding: 'Following the money is essential if we are serious about disrupting organised crime. If we want a High Street renaissance, we must prevent criminal economies from taking root and driving law-abiding citizens out of business.'
A Post Office spokesperson said: 'Money laundering is a complex issue which affects organisations across the financial sector. Post Office works closely with the banks and law enforcement agencies to identify suspicious activity and disrupt criminal behaviour. We continue to invest in controls, training and partnerships across the industry so we can respond to evolving threats.'
