Criminal finances

Most organised criminal activity is directly or indirectly aimed at making money. Typically, some of the money made from any activity is used to pay for the goods and services needed to support that activity, and to re-invest in the next venture.

Some organised criminals spend most of what they make through their crimes on sustaining a lavish lifestyle. Others accumulate wealth in cash and assets, which may be held in the UK or overseas. However, most will be involved to a greater or lesser extent in laundering money in order to hide its true origins and to enjoy the profits.

The scale of the problem

Assessing the scale of this illicit and usually hidden activity is not simple. The most recently available figures are from the Home Office (2006). These estimate the revenue made by organised crime in the UK from illicit goods and services, such as Class A drugs, and the criminal abuse of legitimate markets, such as fiscal fraud. Their total is in the order of £15 billion a year.

Different crimes, different financing

Whilst estimating the scale of activity is difficult, it is possible to identify the market structures, revenues, costs, transaction types and financial flows for the main types of organised crime.

For example, the supply of drugs involves a segmented, international supply chain with tens of thousands of operators at the lower levels. The vast majority of transactions involve cash. At street level this is mostly in small denominations, with significant amounts being moved around the UK and exported to pay for drug consignments. A proportion of drug purchases at most levels of the market is made on credit.

Organised immigration crime and fraud depend to a lesser extent on large cash transactions. The money flow through the supply chain is different due to the different structure of the criminal activity.

Find out more about criminal finance now

There’s more information on the role of money in organised crime in the UK Threat Assessment (765.62 kb PDF)

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