UK targets illegal crypto trading in London crackdown

Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on Wednesday swooped on eight London addresses suspected of illegal peer-to-peer crypto trading in its first such operation with other agencies, the financial regulator said on Wednesday.

Working with tax officials and ‌police under ⁠money ⁠laundering and terrorist financing regulations, the FCA said it ​had issued cease and desist letters at each site.

"Evidence obtained ​during the on-site inspections is supporting a number of ongoing criminal investigations," the FCA said in a ​statement.


Authorities want to prevent such ⁠traders from ‌providing a route for criminals to ​move, ​disguise and spend money. Peer-to-peer traders, ⁠who shun centralised exchanges, have to be registered ​in Britain - and there are currently ​no FCA-registered peer-to-peer crypto traders here.

Authorities rank crypto assets as a high-risk investment in Britain, where they remain largely unregulated, except for under anti-money laundering and financial promotion rules.

"The resources and ‌coordination deployed in this operation show that the FCA isn't just making statements about ​its ​areas of focus, ⁠it is acting on them," said Imogen Makin, counsel at law firm WilmerHale in London.

"It seems likely that ​we will continue to see similar crackdowns in future as the FCA remains focused on combatting the risks associated with crypto and financial crime."