FCA Continues Crackdown on Unregistered Crypto ATMs in the UK

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“Criminals will use crypto ATMs to launder illegally obtained money, so we were pleased to help our colleagues at the FCA target businesses in the region displaying these machines without permission.”

The Financial Conduct Authority has announced that it is continuing to crack down on the activities of unregistered crypto ATMs in the UK.

In a joint operation with the South West Regional Organized Crime Unit, the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organized Crime Unit and Nottinghamshire Police, the Regulator is inspecting sites in Exeter, Nottingham and Sheffield suspected to host illegally operated crypto ATMs.

Crypto ATMs allow people to buy or convert cash into crypto-assets. There are no FCA-registered crypto ATM operators, which they must be to operate legally. The crackdown on this illicit sector continues as authorities believe operators are using crypto ATMs to launder illegally obtained money. That is why they are not inclined to register with the FCA.

“Crypto ATMs operating without FCA registration are illegal”

Therese Chambers, Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Surveillance at the FCA, said: “Crypto ATMs operating without FCA registration are illegal. The action we have taken over the past few months and broader work shows that we will act to stop illegal activity. As well as disrupting unregistered crypto businesses, the joint efforts have helped raise awareness of illegally operated crypto ATMs in the UK. This is especially important because crypto products are high risk and currently unregulated. This means that you must be prepared to lose all your money if you invest in it.

Peter Highway, Economic Crime Unit Manager at the South West Regional Organized Crime Unit (SWROCU), said: “Criminals will use Crypto ATMs to launder illegally obtained money, we have therefore delighted to help our colleagues at FCA target businesses in the area. view these machines without permission.

Ramona Senior, Economic Crime Officer at the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organized Crime Unit (YH ROCU), said: “Our officers in the Regional Cybercrime Unit are delighted to be working in conjunction with Financial Conduct Authority and other partner agencies to target the use of unregulated information. crypto ATMs. Machines like these are key in facilitating money laundering and the movement of funds acquired through criminal activity.

The action follows one taken in Leeds and East London, where the FCA inspected several premises suspected of hosting unregistered crypto ATMs, alongside regional organized crime units.

Although the FCA has not given the green light to any crypto firm offering ATM services, there are nearly 100 crypto ATMs in the UK, according to the Coin ATM Radar site.

The FCA has announced that it will contact each of these crypto companies and tell them to shut down their ATMs or else they will face further action.

The regulator has been very busy with crypto-related businesses. In March, the regulator disclosed that it had opened more than 300 cases related to crypto firms in a six-month period last year and conducted 50 live investigations, including criminal investigations, into companies in the sector.

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