Organized crime groups are increasingly pulling young people into money-mule networks, with nearly 9,000 adults under 30 arrested for money-laundering offenses in England and Wales between January 2020 and January 2025. The figures come from an analysis of police data obtained from 36 forces, revealing that younger adults accounted for more than six in 10 recorded arrests during the period. The scale of youth involvement points to a recruitment problem extending well beyond traditional financial crime.
The underlying figures, published by researchers at the University of the West of England and Cardiff University, record 14,493 arrests across all age groups, including 8,956 people aged 18 to 29. Police recorded 7,735 charges following those arrests. The research also identified 776 under-18s among the records supplied by 35 forces, while Ministry of Justice data showed 108 children and 420 young adults aged 18 to 24 were convicted of money-laundering offenses during the same broad period. The university’s summary of the research says 18-to-29-year-olds formed the largest age group, although people over 30 remained a significant secondary category.
A money mule receives or transfers criminal funds—often through a personal bank account—in an effort to disguise where the money came from and make investigations harder. The arrangement may be presented as an easy side hustle, temporary work, or a favor for someone the target knows. The National Crime Agency says most mules are young, with many recruited between 17 and 24, and warns that students are frequently targeted when financial pressure makes quick cash especially attractive.
Interviews and surveys involving Regional Organized Crime Units and City of London Police identified students—particularly international students—as especially vulnerable. Researchers pointed to financial hardship, manipulation, and limited awareness, while cautioning that the available data cannot show exactly how many arrests involved students. A separate government study found that 14% of people surveyed had encountered online advertisements or posts offering opportunities connected to money muling, while 6% had received a direct request; respondents aged 16 to 24 were more likely than older adults to encounter those offers.
The recruitment pipeline also exposes a gap in the response. Schools and universities handle large flows of money and have extensive international connections, yet higher-education institutions do not fall under the same Money Laundering Regulations that require covered organizations to report suspicions to the UK Financial Intelligence Unit. That can leave investigators focused on the account holder rather than the network directing the transactions. For young people, the warning is blunt: letting someone route money through an account can turn an apparently harmless online opportunity into an arrest, a conviction, and a lasting barrier to financial independence.
