11 people arrested on suspicion of money laundering in Belfast

Q Newsdesk

11 people are being questioned on suspicion of money laundering following a large scale operation in Belfast today.

6 properties were searched in the city and 6 men and 5 women were arrested.

Police say in total almost 16 million pounds has been deposited to thousands of bank accounts across the UK from the accounts since January last year.

Officers believe most of the money is linked to the criminal activity of chinese organised crime groups.


Detective Chief Inspector Ian Wilson said:

“Together with officers from neighbourhood and local policing teams and colleagues from PSNI’s Operational Support Department, we carried out a large scale search and arrest operation targeting individuals suspected of money laundering through bank accounts".  

“Six men aged 67, 48, 44, 42, 41 and 35 and five women aged 60, 38, 36, 34 and 32 were arrested during today’s operation which was supported by partners in the National Crime Agency, Immigration Enforcement and Border Force and is part of UK wide operation, led by the National Economic Crime Centre."

“During our investigation we identified that a significant volume of suspected criminal cash was being laundered out of the country through a number of bank accounts held here in Northern Ireland. In total, almost sixteen million pounds has been deposited to thousands of bank accounts across the UK from the accounts since January 2018.  We believe that the majority of this money is derived from a range of criminal activity carried out by Chinese organised crime groups."

“Money laundering is often a critical enabler of organised criminality and today’s operation is part of a wider ongoing investigation.  We are committed to keeping people safe by robustly pursuing those who are involved in laundering criminally derived money and enabling criminals to access the profits gained from their involvement in a range of illegal activities."