Members of people-smuggling gangs who send migrants across the English Channel in flimsy boats will face U.K. financial sanctions under measures announced Monday by the British government.
The U.K. said the new powers target smugglers and those who supply them with money and equipment. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the measures are “the world’s first sanctions regime targeted at gangs involved in people smuggling and driving irregular migration, as well as their enablers.”
Those in breach of the rules can have U.K. assets seized, be barred from using British banks and be banned from entering Britain. The first sanctions under the new powers are due to be announced on Wednesday, the Foreign Office said.
