England's IMLT arrests suspected loan shark in raid
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 7
England's IMLT arrests suspected loan shark in raid
5 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 7
In Bristol, investigators said the suspect took up to £750,000 from about 200 victims, seizing passports, gold jewellery, a samurai sword and a meat cleaver.
The team said it received 597 reports last year, leading to 33 arrests and six convictions, while victims described threats, mental health crises and families paying tens of thousands of pounds.
Officials say loan sharks increasingly operate online and pose as legitimate lenders; Fair4All Finance estimates 1.9 million people in Great Britain used an illegal money lender in a year.
Beyond catching criminals, what is the UK's plan to fix the economic despair that fuels illegal money lending?
Why do new bank fraud rules protect some victims, but leave those paying illegal loan sharks completely vulnerable?
With new UK reforms just weeks old, can expanded credit unions truly defeat the growing threat of online loan sharks?