Is a loan shark charging very high interest rates illegal and what should I do if I am being threatened?

Illegal moneylending — loan sharking — involves lending money at extremely high and unregulated interest rates, often with threats or intimidation to enforce repayment. In most countries, any money lent by an unlicensed lender is legally unenforceable, meaning you do not have a legal obligation to repay it. Loan sharks exploit vulnerable people with no access to regulated credit and then use fear of violence, property damage, or exposure to keep victims compliant. You are not in legal trouble for borrowing from an unregulated lender — the lender is the one committing an offence. Specialist illegal lending teams exist in many police forces, and organisations such as the England Illegal Money Lending Team (UK) or equivalent bodies in other countries offer confidential support and protection.

Loan sharks often begin as something softer — a friend of a friend, someone known at work or in the neighbourhood who 'helps people out' — and the relationship hardens only after money changes hands. Records are deliberately vague or absent so the balance can never be settled: payments are taken but the debt persists, because the debt is the product. Victims stay silent out of shame or fear, which is exactly what the model depends on. Support services exist because this is recognised as exploitation rather than borrowing; contacting them does not require you to involve police at first, and dedicated teams can advise on safety before anything else happens.