UK authorities have held back a historic £383 million in suspected criminal assets during the financial period ending March 2025.
Growth in Defense Against Money Laundering Requests (DAMLs) and Asset Freezing Measures
Around 58,000 DAMLs were submitted by banks and other AML-regulated bodies, leading to 2,048 asset-targeting measures under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA). These actions encompassed account freezing orders, restraint orders, forfeiture orders, and civil recovery efforts. The total amounted to the highest annual value restrained or seized in recorded history.
A single DAML was responsible for more than £103 million worth of denied assets during the year, accounting for approximately 27% of the overall £383 million. On average, each order restrained or seized an asset valued at around £187,000. Comparatively, in the previous financial year ending March 2024, UKFIU received about 57,000 DAMLs, obtained roughly 1,800 asset-related orders, and total assets restrained or seized amounted to £240 million.
The data suggests a rising preference for account freezing orders due to their speed, lower evidentiary requirements, and cost-effectiveness. Law enforcement agencies also saw an increase in court-approved moratorium extensions connected to DAMLs, doubling such applications year-over-year to 151. These extensions enable investigators additional time to collect evidence in intricate financial crime cases before pursuing longer-term confiscation or restraint.
Operational efficiency improved as the UK Financial Intelligence Unit reduced the average processing time for DAML requests from 3.1 days to 2.8 days, minimizing transaction suspensions while avoiding customer notification. This enhancement occurred alongside increased staffing levels across the UK’s financial crime ecosystem.
The rise in enforcement activities followed the implementation of the economic crime levy in April 2023, which funded the hiring of nearly 400 additional investigators, analysts, and specialist personnel at UK law enforcement agencies. These resources contributed to higher asset recovery outcomes despite a decline in long-term DAML submissions.
The fall in DAMLs has been steady since peaking around 105,000 in the financial year ending March 2021, with part of this reduction attributed to legislative changes under POCA that raised the transaction value threshold for DAML consent from £250 to £3,000 in July 2025.
International cooperation was also significant. UKFIU received 1,608 requests for information from overseas partners during the year, the highest volume globally. Fraud-related inquiries made up nearly half of these requests, with suspected money laundering accounting for roughly one-quarter. Germany topped the list of requesting jurisdictions, followed by Malta, the US, Lithuania, Italy, and France, while the UK most frequently sought assistance from Spain, the United Arab Emirates, Romania, Ireland, and the Netherlands.
