Universities, where international students pay higher fees, are used by corrupt individuals to launder reputations and money by buying financing departments, according to campaigners

Universities and private schools are accused of turning a blind eye to millions of pounds of allegedly dirty money poured into their coffers by foreign students.

The education sector made only nine out of the 382,000 reports to authorities of possible money-laundering incidents in 2014-15. Anti-corruption campaigners say that a loophole which means schools and colleges are not obliged to make “suspicious activity reports” to the National Crime Agency must be closed and called for stricter supervision of money in the sector.

Transparency campaigners say that the education system is a destination for corrupt individuals to launder reputations and money by buying places for their children at schools and colleges, financing university departments and bankrolling research projects.

International students pay higher fees than their domestic