FCA Cracks Down on Unregistered Crypto Trading in London
The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched a crackdown on unregistered peer-to-peer crypto trading in London, issuing cease and desist letters to three premises alongside HM Revenue & Customs and the Metropolitan Police. The action took place on September 10 under the 2017 money laundering regulations.
According to the FCA, there are currently no registered peer-to-peer crypto businesses operating in the UK, making every such operation unregistered by definition. This makes enforcement a matter of finding them rather than distinguishing compliant from non-compliant operations.
The FCA said that these unregistered traders sit outside anti-money laundering controls and can provide a route for moving and laundering criminal funds. The authority's executive director of enforcement and market oversight, Steve Smart, warned that 'Anyone running an unregistered peer-to-peer crypto business should assume we are looking at them.'
The Metropolitan Police also highlighted the challenges posed by the speed and complexity of cryptocurrency transactions.