Overseas Students Identified As Money Laundering Targets

Why are criminals using international students and what can students' unions be doing to raise awareness and protect students?

Overseas students studying in the UK have been identified by the National Crime Agency as a key target for criminal gangs attempting to launder money, with Chinese students being particularly vulnerable.

The NCA reported in its 'National Strategic Assessment of Serious and Organised Crime' for 2019 that account freezing orders were placed on 95 UK bank accounts containing an estimated £3.6 million. The accounts were mainly held by overseas students studying at universities in the UK.

One bank, Santander, alerted the authorities in the UK about suspicious cash deposits of over £57m which were linked to 600 bank accounts opened by students.