UK regulators target illegal peer-to-peer crypto trading across three London locations

Three London businesses suspected of running illegal peer-to-peer crypto trading operations received cease-and-desist letters on September 10, after a coordinated sweep by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, HM Revenue & Customs, and the Metropolitan Police Service. The operation marks the second joint enforcement action targeting unregistered P2P crypto operations this year. The first, back in April, hit eight separate premises and has since fed into ongoing criminal investigations. What happened and what it means The joint task force descended on three undisclosed London locations, delivering formal cease-and-desist orders to the operators. No arrests were made during the operation, and the FCA has declined to publicly name the targeted businesses. Steve Smart, the FCA’s executive director of enforcement, put it plainly: anyone involved in unregistered P2P crypto operations should expect scrutiny. The core legal issue is straightforward. Under UK law, any business facilitating peer-to-peer crypto transactions must register with the FCA under anti-money laundering regulations. Those requirements have been in place since early 2020. And here’s the uncomfortable truth for P2P ...