The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has conducted multiple raids across London, disrupting illegal peer-to-peer crypto trading in the capital city.

 

According to a press release from the regulatory watchdog, the crackdown was not conducted alone, as it involved collaboration with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and the Metropolitan Police Service.

 

“Working with partners, we continue to track and disrupt illegal crypto activity. Anyone running an unregistered peer-to-peer crypto business should assume we are looking at them,” said Steve Smart, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA.

 

 

Following raids at three locations where these illegal crypto trading activities were being carried out, the FCA said it issued cease and desist letters ordering the operators of these trading activities to stop.

 

Although peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency trading is not entirely banned in the UK, P2P trading is only allowed if it is conducted on a registered platform. However, the agency warns against P2P trading activities conducted directly between two users due to their potential to facilitate illicit activities such as money laundering.

 

The raid by the FCA is not the first of its kind this year. In April, the agency conducted a more intense crackdown on illegal crypto trading businesses, raiding eight locations across the UK where these illegal crypto trading activities were being carried out.

 

Similar Crackdowns Outside the UK

 

Outside the UK, several other regulatory agencies have also been going hard on illegal crypto businesses, with Australia, the United States, and India being in the news recently.

 

In Australia, the Australian financial intelligence agency (AUSTRAC) recently suspended or cancelled the registrations of 45 virtual asset service providers (VASPs), shutting down 96 CryptoLink ATMs across the country due to compliance and regulatory violations.

 

In the United States, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), in collaboration with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Secret Service, coordinated action against Xinbi Guarantee, a large Chinese-language Telegram-based illicit marketplace reportedly linked to scams, money laundering, and other cyber-related crimes.

 

Dubai’s digital asset regulator has instructed KuCoin and all entities associated with the exchange to cease their crypto operations in the Emirates, stating that the platform operated an illegal, unlicensed virtual asset service.

 

In a recent news alert, the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), Dubai’s digital assets regulator, warned residents about the unlicensed crypto operations of KuCoin and its affiliated entities: Phoenixfin Pte Ltd, MEK Global Limited, Peken Global Limited, and KuCoin EU GmbH.

 

Image credit: VARA

 

According to VARA, KuCoin and its entities lacked the necessary regulatory approvals to operate in the region and that they misled the public about their licensing status.

 

"In accordance with Dubai Law No. (4) of 2022 and Cabinet Resolution No. 111/2022, all virtual asset service providers must be licensed to operate legally in this jurisdiction. KuCoin does not meet these legal requirements and is not authorised to provide any virtual asset services in or from Dubai," the regulator said.

 

Since KuCoin lacked the regulatory approval required to operate in the United Arab Emirates, the regulator clarified that any promotion, advertising, or solicitation related to the exchange and its virtual asset products was illegal.

 

Thus, KuCoin has been instructed to cease and desist from all unlicensed virtual asset activities in the region. The regulator also urged Dubai residents and investors to consult its public register of licensed and approved VASPs before engaging with any platform.

 

 

Kucoin’s Rough Edge With Regulatory Compliance

KuCoin has had its own battles with regulatory compliance in recent years. In February 2024, Austria’s Financial Market Authority temporarily restricted the exchange from onboarding new customers to its platform.

 

According to the regulator, KuCoin lacked key compliance personnel responsible for anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorist financing (CTF), and sanctions monitoring. The exchange was therefore found to be non-compliant with regulatory obligations under the EU crypto framework. As a result, KuCoin had to temporarily halt its operations until full compliance was achieved.

 

In 2025, Canada’s Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre (FINTRAC) imposed a $19.6 million fine on KuCoin, accusing the exchange of serious anti-money laundering (AML) violations and failing to register as a money services business. The fine came three years after the exchange was permanently banned in Ontario.

 

KuCoin also had to exit the U.S. market in 2025 after being accused of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business and other anti-money-laundering violations. It paid a $300 million fine and agreed to remain out of the U.S. market for at least two years.