The UK government plans to introduce new sanctions targeting the finances of people smuggling networks in an effort to curb illegal migration into the country. The measures are expected to come into effect later this year, and will be the first in the world to specifically target people smugglers. The sanctions are designed to disrupt the flow of money and make it harder for smugglers to profit from the deadly trade. UK-based individuals and financial institutions would be prohibited by law from dealing with sanctioned groups.
The government has drawn up the scheme in collaboration with sanction experts, law enforcement, and Home Office staff. The legislation will be introduced soon, as Foreign Secretary David Lammy prepares to announce further details of the plan in a speech on Thursday. Lammy will outline how the sanctions will help prevent, combat, deter, and disrupt irregular migration and the smuggling of migrants into the UK.
Last year, a quarter more people were detected attempting to cross the English Channel in small boats than in the previous year. Despite this, the number was lower than the record set in 2022. In November, the UK’s Border Security Command was granted enhanced powers to tackle people smuggling, including permission to freeze smuggling networks’ bank accounts. This month, the government announced new laws allowing travel bans, social media blackouts, and phone restrictions for suspected people smugglers.
Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary, Priti Patel, criticized her party’s lack of credibility on dealing with the trade of people smuggling. In parliament, Labour voted against tougher punishments and life sentences for people smugglers, abolished the Rwanda deterrent, and campaigned for the rights of dangerous criminals and foreign national offenders over the safety of the British people. Sir Keir Starmer, however, said that the sanctions would hamper the illicit finance rings allowing smugglers to traffic vulnerable people across Europe. According to the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, “We must dismantle the crime gangs facilitating breaches of our borders.
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