The London P2P sweep: UK FCA raids eight illegal peer-to-peer trading hubs
The sites were targeted for facilitating P2P trading without required registration or anti-money laundering controls, posing a financial crime risk.
What to know:
- The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) led its first coordinated crackdown on illegal peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto trading, raiding eight London sites.
- The sites were targeted for facilitating P2P trading without required registration or anti-money laundering controls, posing a financial crime risk.
- Authorities seized evidence for criminal investigations, issued cease-and-desist notices, and warned consumers lack protection with unregistered traders.
The FCA stated that the sites were suspected of facilitating peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto trading, where individuals buy and sell crypto directly with one another, without the required registration or anti-money laundering controls.
Under U.K. law, anyone operating as a crypto exchange provider must register with the FCA. The regulator confirmed there are currently no registered peer-to-peer crypto traders or platforms in the country.
“Unregistered peer-to-peer crypto traders operating in the U.K. are doing so illegally and pose a financial crime risk,” said Steve Smart, the FCA’s executive director of enforcement and market oversight.
Law enforcement agencies framed the operation as part of efforts to cut off routes used to move illicit funds. DI Ross Flay of SWROCU said unregistered traders can enable criminals to “move, disguise and spend illegal money.”
