WhatsApp chats were used to move cash for crime and extremism, BBC reports
Investigators say encrypted WhatsApp groups helped arrange cash transfers in Britain and overseas without leaving a paper trail.
Encrypted WhatsApp chats were used to organise cash movements linked to crime and extremism in the UK and abroad, according to a BBC investigation published on 30 August 2026. The arrangements were designed to avoid conventional banking records, the report said.
The BBC said the network relied on messages to coordinate transfers of physical cash across borders, making the transactions harder to trace. It described the system as operating without the usual paperwork that would normally document where money came from and where it went.
The report did not identify all of the people involved, but said the method allowed money to be shifted for illicit purposes while leaving little evidence behind. It added that the activity stretched beyond Britain to other countries.
The findings add to wider concerns about how encrypted messaging services can be used to facilitate financial crime and other illegal activity, even as the platforms remain widely used for ordinary private communication.
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