FCA Cracks Down on Unregistered Crypto Trading Operations in London

The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued cease-and-desist orders to three London locations suspected of hosting unregistered peer-to-peer cryptocurrency trading operations. The enforcement action was carried out on September 10 alongside HM Revenue & Customs and the Metropolitan Police.

The targeted premises did not appear on the FCA's official register, placing them outside anti-money laundering controls designed to detect and prevent illicit fund flows. Steve Smart, the FCA's executive director of enforcement and market oversight, warned operators that 'we are looking at' unregistered peer-to-peer crypto businesses.

The operation follows an April sweep in which the FCA, HMRC, and the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit inspected eight London sites. As a result, evidence gathered during those inspections is now supporting ongoing criminal investigations and further regulatory actions.

Caroline Black, a consultant at Gherson Solicitors LLP, said the latest operation signals a definitive shift in the regulator's posture. 'This second coordinated enforcement operation in six months confirms the FCA's shift from warnings to active disruption of unregistered P2P crypto businesses,' she said.