The U.Okay.’s Monetary Conduct Authority (FCA) has carried out its first coordinated crackdown on unlawful peer-to-peer crypto buying and selling, focusing on eight areas throughout London in a joint operation with His Majesty’s Income & Customs (HMRC) and the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU).
Officers issued cease-and-desist notices at every website and gathered proof that’s now feeding into a number of prison investigations, in line with the FCA.
The FCA said that the websites have been suspected of facilitating peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto buying and selling, the place people purchase and promote crypto straight with each other, with out the required registration or anti-money laundering controls.
Below U.Okay. legislation, anybody working as a crypto trade supplier should register with the FCA. The regulator confirmed there are at the moment no registered peer-to-peer crypto merchants or platforms within the nation.
“Unregistered peer-to-peer crypto merchants working within the U.Okay. are doing so illegally and pose a monetary crime danger,” stated Steve Sensible, the FCA’s government director of enforcement and market oversight.
Legislation enforcement companies framed the operation as a part of efforts to chop off routes used to maneuver illicit funds. DI Ross Flay of SWROCU stated unregistered merchants can allow criminals to “transfer, disguise and spend unlawful cash.”
The motion builds on earlier enforcement steps. The FCA has prosecuted operators of unlawful crypto ATMs for a number of years and labored with police to arrest people linked to an unregistered crypto trade in 2024.
Final yr, it additionally took motion in opposition to offshore platform HTX over illegal monetary promotions and expanded oversight of social media figures selling high-risk crypto merchandise.
The crackdown comes because the UK prepares to roll out a broader regulatory regime for crypto by October 2027, with a licensing window anticipated to open in September 2026. The present framework focuses primarily on anti-money laundering compliance and monetary promotions.
The FCA urged customers to test whether or not corporations are registered utilizing its on-line register. It additionally warned that customers coping with unregistered P2P merchants lack entry to the Monetary Ombudsman Service or compensation schemes and should face dangers if transactions contain stolen funds.