E175: How did vape shops become the frontline of money laundering?

Last November in the UK, more than 2,000 vape shops, mini marts and candy stores were raided in a National Crime Agency (NCA) operation – with £11 million in cash seized.

But despite the raids, 'hubs of polycriminality' persist on the high street. Solving it means following the money.

Our expert host, Marit Rødevand, is joined by Sal Melki, Deputy Director of Illicit Finance at National Crime Agency, to ask: "How did vape shops become the frontline of money laundering?"

The pair discuss: how high street stores became fronts for criminality, how that feeds into financial crime, and how to fight back.

Producer: Matthew Dunne-Miles

Editor: Dominic Delargy

Video: Loïs Dunford

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The Laundry connects anti-money laundering, compliance and financial crime to the real world — the headlines, the regulation behind them, and what non-compliance actually costs.

Hosted by Marit Rødevand, Fredrik Riiser and Robin Lycka, each episode brings on practitioners from banking, fintech, regulators and investigative journalism to unpack what's actually happening in the industry.

The Laundry is proudly produced by Strise – manual fincrime works ends now.