Beautiful Virgin Islands

Sunday, Oct 05, 2025

Money laundering fears as U.K. universities accept £52m in cash

Money laundering fears as U.K. universities accept £52m in cash

Universities have been accused of inadvertently facilitating money laundering after a Times investigation found that they accepted millions of pounds in cash from students from “high-risk” countries.
At least 49 British universities let students use banknotes to pay £52 million in fees over the past five years, including millions from China, India, Russia and Nigeria.

Financial crime specialists said the disclosure showed that institutions had turned a blind eye to being used to launder proceeds of illicit activity overseas. One security expert said they were “putting out a welcome mat for the world’s kleptocrats and money launderers”. Cash payments do not leave a paper trail that could allow police or banking regulators to track them back to source. They are typically not allowed for most high-value purchases, such as houses.

University officials say that rigorous checks are carried out. However, only 24 out of 478,437 suspicious activity reports filed to the National Crime Agency (NCA) in the 2018-19 fiscal year came from the education sector. Data obtained by The Times under freedom of information laws shows that the top cash-paying country was China. The universities that replied, including some from the elite Russell Group, had received £7.7 million in banknotes from Chinese students since 2015.

All universities said that they had strong due diligence procedures in place and some now refused to accept cash. Universities UK said: “Universities work together with the government, the police service and relevant sector bodies to help protect students and individual institutions from potential money-laundering activity.”

The top cash-paying country was China, with respondent universities receiving £7.7 million in banknotes from Chinese students since 2015. This was followed by £1.8 million from Indian students, £1.2 million from students from Pakistan and £1.5 million from Nigerian students. Some universities did not specify nationalities.

Many universities accepting banknotes were newer institutions such as Essex, which took £5.4 million, and Wolverhampton, which took £2.8 million. Older universities have also received big sums. Manchester University took £5 million, while Nottingham University accepted £1.8 million, mainly from Chinese students. Durham received £440,000 from foreign students, £200,000 of which came from Chinese students and tens of thousands from Saudi and Kazakh students.

Strathclyde University in Glasgow, which took £700,000 in banknotes, said that it would allow students who could not pay electronically to bring cash to campus.

Russia and Ghana were also identified as “high-risk” cash suppliers. Payments were made for tuition, accommodation and other course fees.

The National Crime Agency said in a 2019 report that overseas students were a target for money launderers. In February that year the authorities froze 95 UK bank accounts containing about £3.6 million, mainly held by overseas students.

Matthew Page, a fellow of Chatham House who has researched money-laundering risks at UK universities, said that students studying abroad whose parents were public officials posed a significant risk. Page, a former US government security analyst who specialises in Nigeria, said: “Any educational institution that accepts cash payments is essentially putting out a welcome mat for the world’s kleptocrats and money launderers.

“Universities that accept cash are at high risk of laundering the proceeds of crime, corruption and other illicit activities. Universities that fail to conduct basic due diligence cannot plausibly deny that they are involved in money laundering.”

He said that university admissions staff were unlikely to question discrepancies because they were focused on the ability to pay, not the source.

Chris Greany, a former UK national police co-ordinator for countering economic crime, questioned why universities had not stopped taking cash payments years ago. “You can’t buy a car, a flight or rent a hotel room for cash any more, so I don’t see how it can still be acceptable for universities,” he said.

“It is known that cash payments from many of the countries mentioned here are sometimes linked to money laundering and other criminal enterprises, so cash-based payments need proper scrutiny and accountability, but there is no good reason for them at all.”

Ben Cowdock, lead investigator at Transparency International UK, a not-for-profit group, said: “Whilst not subject to anti-money-laundering rules, British universities are exposed to illicit wealth as wealthy criminals seek the best education for their children. Universities should be alert to signs they may be handling dirty money.”

All universities said they had strong due-diligence procedures in place to avoid the possibility of money laundering through cash takings. Essex said it worked closely with “Lloyds bank and other sector experts to keep up with latest advice”. Wolverhampton said it had stopped taking cash in March last year, that it had “rigorous procedures and policies”, and that all its due-diligence checks complied with regulations.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
×