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

According to an announcement on the official website of the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the FCA, in collaboration with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and the Metropolitan Police, conducted raids on three suspected illegal peer-to-peer cryptocurrency trading venues in London on September 10, issuing cessation warning letters to all involved premises and ordering them to immediately halt related illegal operations. Steve Smart, Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at the FCA, stated that anyone operating unregistered peer-to-peer cryptocurrency businesses should be aware that regulators are actively monitoring them. To date, no peer-to-peer crypto operators have been registered with the FCA in the UK. This operation serves as a follow-up to a targeted crackdown earlier this year in April, with previously collected evidence already utilized to support criminal investigations and subsequent enforcement actions. The FCA emphasized that unregistered crypto traders may provide money laundering conduits for criminals and circumvent anti-money laundering monitoring mechanisms.