The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has raided multiple locations across the country, suspected of running illegal peer-to-peer crypto trading operations.

 

The raid, conducted by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, the country’s regulatory watchdog, in collaboration with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the South West Regional Organized Crime Unit (SWROCU), targeted eight locations suspected of facilitating illegal peer-to-peer crypto trading.

 

 

According to the FCA, cease and desist letters were issued to the platforms, ordering a halt to the illegal trading activity, and evidence supporting their suspicions and ongoing criminal investigations was gathered on-site during the raid.

 

Peer-to-peer (P2P) trading, which involves the buying and selling of crypto assets directly between individuals without the use of a centralized exchange, is illegal in the UK, as there are currently no FCA-registered P2P trading platforms in the country.

 

According to Steve Smart, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, “Unregistered peer-to-peer crypto traders operating in the UK are doing so illegally and pose a financial crime risk. We will use our powers and work with partners to disrupt them.”

 

He added, “Consumers should protect themselves by only dealing with firms registered with the FCA and by remembering that crypto remains a high-risk investment.”

 

UK Takes Tough Stance on Illegal Crypto Operations

The UK authorities, in collaboration with law enforcement agencies, have intensified efforts over the past year to combat illegal cryptocurrency operations, cracking down on illicit crypto entities and their operators.

 

Earlier this month, the National Crime Agency (NCA), working with the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, launched Operation Atlantic, a crackdown targeting crypto phishing scammers. The operation led to the seizure of more than $12 million in suspected criminal proceeds, involving victims across the UK, the US, and Canada.

 

In February this year, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), in collaboration with the Metropolitan Police Service, seized more than £1 billion in cryptocurrencies from two individuals suspected of running an illegal cryptocurrency exchange. This follows legal action taken by the FCA approximately a year earlier against the cryptocurrency exchange HTX, when the regulator filed a civil lawsuit against the exchange over its unlawful financial promotions in the country.

 

Most recently, the FCA said in an X post that it is cracking down on influencers promoting illegal financial products that put consumers’ money at risk.