School of Law researchers’ money laundering project concludes, with key insights for practice and policy
Dr Ilaria Zavoli and Dr Oriana Casasola’s ESRC-funded research project explored the money laundering risks of the UK insolvency sector and the lived realities of the practitioners operating in it.
In collaboration with the Insolvency Practitioners Association (IPA), ‘Behind Closed Books: Money Laundering in UK Insolvency Proceedings’ was a pioneering 15-month long project that addressed the gap in research around the money laundering risks of the UK insolvency sector. By bringing together practitioners and experts at collaborative working events, Drs Zavoli and Casasola offered a crucial opportunity to generate societal impact by shaping future Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulation in insolvency.
Their new video reveals how criminals exploit insolvency proceedings by targeting distressed companies, the red flags practitioners need to spot, and the crucial role insolvency practitioners play in safeguarding the system.
The video will be disseminated to stakeholders in the insolvency sector, including professional bodies representing insolvency practitioners, AML governmental agencies, MPs, and policymakers.
Project highlights
The project’s primary goal and impact were to influence AML policies by determining the priorities and needs of practitioners and stakeholders in the insolvency sector.
Key outputs
In addition to the video, the project delivered three pivotal outcomes designed to drive significant impact.
Firstly, the researchers organised a one-day international conference in July 2025 on money laundering in insolvency proceedings. This event brought together more than 160 attendees, including leading academic and non-academic experts to tackle the urgent challenges of AML implementation and the risks of criminal infiltration within the UK economy.
Secondly, Drs Zavoli and Casasola co-produced a policy paper in collaboration with the IPA AML Team to distil critical insights and innovative solutions discussed during the conference. The report was strategically disseminated to relevant stakeholders.
Thirdly, they took the first steps to setting up an international network of experts dedicated to fostering collaborative governance approaches to AML in insolvency. This network will serve as a catalyst for innovation and cooperation in combating money laundering on a global scale.
Next steps
The project’s findings will fill a critical gap in the UK’s AML insolvency framework, which currently lacks systematic input from the practitioners who confront money laundering risks in their daily business. By capturing their priorities and needs, the project generates insights that can reshape both the understanding of AML challenges and the practical design of regulatory responses.
This bottom-up evidence base will directly influence future research and policymaking by offering a co-produced, practitioner-informed agenda that aligns regulatory aims with operational realities, arriving at a pivotal moment marked by new developments such as the establishment of the Insolvency Service’s AML Intelligence Cell in 2024.
In doing so, the project is positioned to guide emerging AML bodies as they define their role and strategy, ensuring that practice-based expertise becomes embedded in future regulatory design. Follow-on work will build on the conference and its report by deepening engagement with regulators, extending findings into further empirical research, and developing ongoing practitioner-policy dialogues that sustain long-term impact in the evolving UK AML landscape.
