Latest news with #Hawala
Reuters
19 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
UK sanctions target people-smugglers, small boat dealer in migrant crackdown
LONDON, July 23 (Reuters) - Britain announced sanctions on Wednesday on 24 people and one company it said were involved in people-smuggling, as part of efforts to cut the number of migrants arriving on small boats. Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised to "smash the gangs" behind irregular migration when he came to power last year, but in the first six months of 2025 the number of migrants coming across the Channel has jumped nearly 50% to 20,000 from the same period last year. The new sanctions regime, first outlined in January, will target those who supply and finance small boats, forge fake documents and funnel cash through an underground payment system known as Hawala, the government said. "From Europe to Asia we are taking the fight to the people-smugglers who enable irregular migration, targeting them wherever they are in the world and making them pay for their actions," foreign minister David Lammy said in a statement. The sanctions are designed to disrupt the flow of money by freezing property and bank accounts, the government said. It named seven Iraqi-linked individuals it said were involved in people-smuggling, as well as eight people from the Balkans who supply fake passports. Sanctions were also imposed on a company in China which advertises its small boats online explicitly for the purpose of people smuggling, and a number of people who work from Belgium and Serbia, and who were described as "gangland bosses" by Britain.
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
First sanctions targeting people-smuggling gangs take effect
The first wave of sanctions aimed at key figures in people-smuggling gangs have come into force in a bid to hit those involved in assisting illegal immigration to the UK. They target 25 individuals and entities including a small boat supplier in Asia and gang leaders based in the Balkans and North Africa. They also hit 'middlemen' putting cash through the Hawala legal money transfer system in the Middle East, which is used in payments linked to Channel crossings. Albanian Bledar Lala, leader of the Belgian operations of an organised smuggling group, and a company in China that advertised small boats for people smuggling on an online marketplace are among those sanctioned. Today I launched the world's first sanctions regime against people smugglers and organised immigration crime, which are key drivers of irregular migration to the UK. It is our moral duty to smash this evil trade. These callous criminals will have nowhere to hide. — David Lammy (@DavidLammy) July 22, 2025 Foreign Secretary David Lammy said it was a 'landmark moment in the Government's work to tackle organised immigration crime (and) reduce irregular migration to the UK'. 'From Europe to Asia we are taking the fight to the people-smugglers who enable irregular migration, targeting them wherever they are in the world and making them pay for their actions. 'My message to the gangs who callously risk vulnerable lives for profit is this: we know who you are, and we will work with our partners around the world to hold you to account.' The measures aim to target organised crime gangs wherever they are in the world and disrupt their flow of cash, including freezing bank accounts, property and other assets, to hinder their activities. It will be illegal for UK businesses and banks to deal with anyone named on the list. The move follows legislation being introduced under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill to ramp up enforcement powers for police forces and partners to investigate and prosecute people smugglers.
The Independent
20 hours ago
- Business
- The Independent
First sanctions targeting people-smuggling gangs take effect
The first wave of sanctions aimed at key figures in people-smuggling gangs have come into force in a bid to hit those involved in assisting illegal immigration to the UK. They target 25 individuals and entities including a small boat supplier in Asia and gang leaders based in the Balkans and North Africa. They also hit 'middlemen' putting cash through the Hawala legal money transfer system in the Middle East, which is used in payments linked to Channel crossings. Albanian Bledar Lala, leader of the Belgian operations of an organised smuggling group, and a company in China that advertised small boats for people smuggling on an online marketplace are among those sanctioned. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said it was a 'landmark moment in the Government's work to tackle organised immigration crime (and) reduce irregular migration to the UK'. 'From Europe to Asia we are taking the fight to the people-smugglers who enable irregular migration, targeting them wherever they are in the world and making them pay for their actions. 'My message to the gangs who callously risk vulnerable lives for profit is this: we know who you are, and we will work with our partners around the world to hold you to account.' The measures aim to target organised crime gangs wherever they are in the world and disrupt their flow of cash, including freezing bank accounts, property and other assets, to hinder their activities. It will be illegal for UK businesses and banks to deal with anyone named on the list. The move follows legislation being introduced under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill to ramp up enforcement powers for police forces and partners to investigate and prosecute people smugglers.
Saudi Gazette
2 days ago
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
UK to announce first people-smuggling sanctions in plan to 'smash the gangs'
LONDON — Gang leaders, corrupt officials and police officers, fake passport dealers and firms supplying small boats could be publicly named in UK sanctions targeting people-smuggling. The first measures are due to be unveiled on Wednesday and are seen as central to government plans to tackle criminal networks behind the crossings. Individuals and companies are expected to be hit with asset freezes, travel bans, and restrictions from engaging with the UK's financial system under the sanctions. It is understood the first tranche will include the names of around two dozen people accused of facilitating the trade or profiting from it - but the Migration Advisory Committee said the impact could be limited. Its deputy chair, Dr Madeleine Sumption, said she would be "surprised" if the sanctions were a "game changer for the industry as a whole, and for the existence of the small boats route". "There are so many people involved in the industry that targeting people individually is probably only going to have an impact around the margins," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. She added: "The impact is dependent to an extent on the co-operation of other countries where smugglers are operating." Further sanctions packages are expected to include corrupt public officials and police officers, while the initial list published on Wednesday is intended to signal the type of targets the UK is pursuing as part of longer-term efforts to disrupt smuggling networks. Sir Keir has pledged to "smash" people-smuggling gangs and made tackling illegal migration at source a key election pledge last year. The government says criminal gangs are preying on the hopes of vulnerable people - but questions have been raised over how easily sanctions can be enforced, particularly given the international nature of smuggling networks. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the sanctions regime was "the first of its kind anywhere on the planet" and a key step in ending "the status quo" where criminal gangs prey on "vulnerable people with impunity". Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he added: "We are leading, others will follow." As well as ringleaders in the trade, the sanctions are expected to target enablers like financial middlemen, who push money through Hawala networks, an informal system for organising money transfers often used by smugglers. In the first six months of this year, more than 20,000 people crossed in small boats, an increase of nearly 50% on the previous year, according to Home Office data. Enver Solomon, CEO of the Refugee Council, said sanctions "may help disrupt some of the criminal networks profiting from human misery", but warned "enforcement alone will not stop dangerous Channel crossings" without safe alternatives. Ministers say the new sanctions will target immigration crime gangs "where traditional law enforcement and criminal justice approaches cannot reach". Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the new sanctions regime is a "decisive step in our fight against the criminal gangs who profit from human misery". "It will allow us to target the assets and operations of people-smugglers wherever they operate, cutting off their funding and dismantling their networks piece by piece," she said. Responding to the plans, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: "The truth is you don't stop the Channel crossings by freezing a few bank accounts in Baghdad or slapping a travel ban on a dinghy dealer in Damascus." The announcement comes after tensions in Essex at the weekend during a protest outside a hotel used to house asylum seekers, which was triggered after the arrest and charge of an asylum seeker on suspicion of alleged sexual assaults. Police said the protest descended into "mindless thuggery" after flares and bottles were thrown towards officers. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described the people protesting as "genuinely concerned families" and said parts of the country are "close... to civil disobedience on a vast scale". Earlier this month, the government signed a "one in, one out" deal with France to return migrants to France for the equivalent number of legal asylum seekers, subject to security checks. — BBC
Saudi Gazette
2 days ago
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
UK to announce first people-smuggling sanctions in plan to 'smash the gangs'
LONDON — Gang leaders, corrupt officials and police officers, fake passport dealers and firms supplying small boats could be publicly named in UK sanctions targeting people-smuggling. The first measures are due to be unveiled on Wednesday and are seen as central to government plans to tackle criminal networks behind the crossings. Individuals and companies are expected to be hit with asset freezes, travel bans, and restrictions from engaging with the UK's financial system under the sanctions. It is understood the first tranche will include the names of around two dozen people accused of facilitating the trade or profiting from it - but the Migration Advisory Committee said the impact could be limited. Its deputy chair, Dr Madeleine Sumption, said she would be "surprised" if the sanctions were a "game changer for the industry as a whole, and for the existence of the small boats route". "There are so many people involved in the industry that targeting people individually is probably only going to have an impact around the margins," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. She added: "The impact is dependent to an extent on the co-operation of other countries where smugglers are operating." Further sanctions packages are expected to include corrupt public officials and police officers, while the initial list published on Wednesday is intended to signal the type of targets the UK is pursuing as part of longer-term efforts to disrupt smuggling networks. Sir Keir has pledged to "smash" people-smuggling gangs and made tackling illegal migration at source a key election pledge last year. The government says criminal gangs are preying on the hopes of vulnerable people - but questions have been raised over how easily sanctions can be enforced, particularly given the international nature of smuggling networks. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the sanctions regime was "the first of its kind anywhere on the planet" and a key step in ending "the status quo" where criminal gangs prey on "vulnerable people with impunity". Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he added: "We are leading, others will follow." As well as ringleaders in the trade, the sanctions are expected to target enablers like financial middlemen, who push money through Hawala networks, an informal system for organising money transfers often used by smugglers. In the first six months of this year, more than 20,000 people crossed in small boats, an increase of nearly 50% on the previous year, according to Home Office data. Enver Solomon, CEO of the Refugee Council, said sanctions "may help disrupt some of the criminal networks profiting from human misery", but warned "enforcement alone will not stop dangerous Channel crossings" without safe alternatives. Ministers say the new sanctions will target immigration crime gangs "where traditional law enforcement and criminal justice approaches cannot reach". Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the new sanctions regime is a "decisive step in our fight against the criminal gangs who profit from human misery". "It will allow us to target the assets and operations of people-smugglers wherever they operate, cutting off their funding and dismantling their networks piece by piece," she said. Responding to the plans, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: "The truth is you don't stop the Channel crossings by freezing a few bank accounts in Baghdad or slapping a travel ban on a dinghy dealer in Damascus." The announcement comes after tensions in Essex at the weekend during a protest outside a hotel used to house asylum seekers, which was triggered after the arrest and charge of an asylum seeker on suspicion of alleged sexual assaults. Police said the protest descended into "mindless thuggery" after flares and bottles were thrown towards officers. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described the people protesting as "genuinely concerned families" and said parts of the country are "close... to civil disobedience on a vast scale". Earlier this month, the government signed a "one in, one out" deal with France to return migrants to France for the equivalent number of legal asylum seekers, subject to security checks. — BBC
