Cliff Notes
- The UK government, under new powers from the Sanctions Act, will freeze the assets of individuals involved in the smuggling of illegal migrants and ban them from entering the UK, as announced by Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
- This sanctions regime is the first of its kind globally, targeting not only gang leaders but also middlemen, suppliers of small boats, and those involved in producing fake documentation.
- The measures aim to disrupt the financial systems supporting smuggling networks and respond to a significant increase in small boat crossings in the first half of 2025.
People smugglers to have assets frozen and be banned from UK | Politics News
People smugglers face having their assets frozen and being banned from entering the UK, the foreign secretary has announced.
David Lammy said new powers under the Sanctions Act will allow the UK to freeze the assets of anyone complicit in smuggling illegal migrants into the country.
Banned from travelling to the UK
They can also be banned from travelling to the UK.
The first wave of sanctions on smuggling gangs and their enablers will be imposed on Wednesday.
Mr Lammy said it is the “world’s first sanctions regime” targeted at smuggling gangs.
Publicly named on a sanctions list
Gang leaders, small boat suppliers, people making and selling fake passports and middlemen facilitating payments by migrants through hawala networks (informal systems for transferring money) will all be targeted this week.
They will be publicly named on a sanctions list, making it illegal for the UK financial system to engage with them.
By using the Sanctions Act, the government said it can target the smuggling gangs wherever they are in the world, including where law enforcement and criminal justice approaches cannot reach.