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The United Kingdom has closed its borders to illegal migration to its countries by sanctioning gangs that exploit the Western Balkan route and financiers who supply equipment to small boats.
The sanctions include all Balkan-based criminal gangs involved in the sale of counterfeit passports and a shadowy financial network that supplies small boat engines.
Gang members and covert financiers enabling people smuggling, including a Kosovo passport forgery ring, have been banned from travelling to the UK and frozen from the UK financial system, as part of the government's crackdown on gangs exploiting a key transit route for illegal migration.
Today's sanctions block people smuggling into the UK and demonstrate the government's determination to 'crush' anyone who supports people trafficking, wherever they are.
The decision was announced today, as the next summit of the Berlin Process was being held in London, which brought together the 6 leaders of the Western Balkans to discuss regional cooperation, illegal migration, European security and economic development.
"There is a criminal route through the Western Balkans that brings illegal immigrants to the UK and we are determined to close it by working with our European partners. Our joint efforts have already halved irregular border crossings and reduced small boat arrivals from Albania by 95%. Through a new Joint Migration Task Force, UK drones and tougher sanctions, we are pursuing smuggling gangs at every stage to put them out of business and provide safety for working people," said Keir Starmer.
Among other things, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper stated that the Western Balkans is now the main route followed by illegal immigrants and that sanctions are the only way to stop them.
“The Western Balkans is a key transit route for ruthless people-smuggling gangs that trade in human suffering. Our world-leading sanctions regime is an essential tool in pursuing gangs operating across our borders and exposing the clandestine networks that support them. Working together with our partners in the region, we are taking decisive action to secure our borders and become stronger here at home.
"Today's sanctions are the latest step in a crackdown by the UK government and its partners against criminal networks that encourage illegal migration to the UK. These actions have seen the number of migrants recorded by Frontex as they transit through the Western Balkans fall from over 140,000 in 2022 to just over 21,000 in 2024," she said.
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