FCA and Law Enforcement Agencies Raid Three Illegal Crypto P2P Trading Venues in London

TechFlow reports that on September 17, according to an announcement on the official website of the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the FCA, jointly with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Metropolitan Police, conducted raids on three suspected illegal peer-to-peer cryptocurrency trading venues in London on September 10, issuing closure warning letters to all involved sites and ordering them to immediately halt their illegal business operations.

Steve Smart, Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at the FCA, stated that anyone operating an unregistered peer-to-peer cryptocurrency business should be aware that regulators are monitoring them. There are currently no peer-to-peer cryptocurrency service providers registered with the FCA in the UK.

This operation serves as a continuation of the targeted crackdown campaign launched in April this year, utilizing previously gathered evidence to support criminal investigations and subsequent enforcement actions. The FCA emphasized that unregistered cryptocurrency traders could provide money laundering conduits for criminals and enable them to circumvent anti-money laundering monitoring mechanisms.