Money laundering risks in higher education – new grant awarded to Law academic
15 April 2025
Law Professor Nicholas Ryder has been awarded an 18K research grant from The Joffe Charitable Trust to continue his investigative work on money laundering and the risks posed to educational institutions and students in the UK.
The UK has some of the best universities in the world, and in the 2021-2022 school year, nearly 2.9 million students chose to study here. However, the high status of education and the large amounts of money spent on it has made universities vulnerable to financial crime due to a lack of regulation in the sector. Money laundering refers to the techniques used by criminals to conceal or disguise their proceeds of crime, enabling them to spend their illicit profits without detection.
The Joffe Charitable Trust grant will allow Professor Ryder, who is working alongside Dr Samantha Mapston of Bristol Law School, University of the West of England, to explore how educational institutions can inadvertently become involved in money laundering by accepting the proceeds of crime via the payment of fees or donations.
In addition to institutional risks, individuals often become embroiled in activity too with students increasingly targeted to become ‘money mules’ to launder illicit funds.
Professor Ryder and Dr Mapston began their work in April 2025 and will continue to research the topic for 9 months. They aim to gather evidence on the nature and extent of the money laundering risks posed to UK educational institutions and their students, as well as to increase understanding of the response currently taken by universities, their regulators, and law enforcement agencies to address identified risks.
Speaking of the grant, Professor Ryder said, “We are looking forward to conducting new research that identifies the increasing financial crime risks faced by universities and their students and how law enforcement agencies respond. We already have a number of law enforcement agencies interested in the outcome of our work and I hope our research will be part of some reform in the sector.”
Professor Ryder is a significant voice in financial crime research looking into its evolving nature and the development of technological solutions that facilitate law enforcement. He has played advisory roles both nationally and internationally and has acted as a Special Advisor for the Home Affairs Select Committee for the duration of its investigation into fraud.
The Joffe Charitable Trust generally funds small UK-based charities which makes Professor Ryder’s grant unusual. Their aim is to support civil society leaders to build a fairer world with a focus on strengthening the integrity in the UK’s international financial systems.
