NCA exposes a billion-dollar Russian ML network that allegedly bought a Lithuanian bank to funnel war-funding, revealing a sophisticated web of shell firms, corrupt intermediaries and global illicit finance

by | Nov 21, 2025

Through Operation Destabilise, the NCA uncovers a sprawling criminal network operating across at least 28 UK cities that funnels cash from drugs, firearms, and people-smuggling into cryptocurrency, and which uses a bank acquisition in Kyrgyzstan to channel funds to...

NCA issues Amber Alert warning state-backed networks, particularly from Russia, Iran, and North Korea, using shadow fleets and opaque corporate structures to evade sanctions on oil and other commodities

by | Nov 13, 2025

These networks exploit shell companies, complex ownership chains, and minimal transparency to conceal cargo origins, with a “red–blue” model linking red companies directly to sanctioned sources and blue companies to Western finance, insurance, and commodities markets....

NCA’s Operation Machinize 2 targets 2,734 high-street businesses, seizing £10.7M in criminal proceeds, £2.7M in illicit goods, and making 924 arrests disrupting ML and worker exploitation

by | Nov 11, 2025

Over October, it targeted 2,734 premises, resulting in 924 arrests, seizures of £10.7 million in suspected criminal proceeds and £2.7 million in illegal goods, and referrals to authorities for companies and workers operating illegally. The operation aimed to disrupt...

NCA secures a £20-21M settlement from Chinese national, seizing dinosaur fossils, luxury apartments, and Chinese artworks under an Unexplained Wealth Order, showing POCA can target even exotic assets

by | Nov 7, 2025

The settlement included three rare dinosaur fossils (two Allosaurus skeletons and one Stegosaurus), nine luxury apartments in London, and 11 Chinese artworks. This case underscores the NCA’s growing ability to target not just traditional assets like cash and property,...

NCA launches ‘Crypto Dream Scam Nightmare’, its first campaign targeting men under 45, warning against crypto investment fraud with real cases and tips to spot scams after 17,000 reports in 2024

by | Nov 7, 2025

The campaign highlights the risks of high-return crypto schemes, sharing real-life examples such as a victim who believed £28,000 had grown to £400,000, only to lose it all. In 2024, Action Fraud recorded over 17,000 reports of crypto investment fraud. The initiative...