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Bitcoin is under surveillance in the UK as the country’s largest police force asked for new powers to freeze cryptocurrency assets just days after the financial watchdog said many crypto firms were failing. did not meet anti-money laundering standards.
Detectives from the London Metropolitan Police, also known as its Scotland Yard headquarters, want the ability to freeze the crypto assets of criminals in the same way they can prevent them from transferring funds, reported on Monday. Times of London.
The police department is also pressing the government for legislative changes to make it more difficult for criminals to transfer crypto assets, according to the report.
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The conversations that have taken place are about how we are aligning cryptocurrency with the same kind of approach we have about money-based crime, Mick Gallagher, Chief Detective Superintendent, told The Times. Scotland Yards Central Specialized Crime Command. Cryptocurrency is invisible, it is instantaneous, it goes around the world, it is not tangible.
Crypto assets, such as bitcoin BTCUSD, -0.86% BTCUSD, -0.86%, ethereum ETHUSD, + 0.36%, and even dogecoin DOGEUSD, -3.76%, can be bought, sold and sent from anonymously because transactions are encrypted with a decentralized ledger technology known as blockchain.
Since these assets are not issued or controlled by a central bank or official authority, their use is largely unregulated and outside the sphere of government intervention. As such, they can be a popular money laundering tool for criminals.
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Scotland Yards calls for new powers to tackle crypto money laundering comes just days after a warning about the practice by the Financial Conduct Authority, the UK’s financial regulator and watchdog.
On June 3, the FCA said a large number of crypto companies did not meet the standards required under money laundering regulations. The announcement came as the regulator pushed back by eight months the deadline for existing crypto companies to register.
Earlier this year, the head of the European Central Bank called for global regulation of bitcoin, saying multilateral action was needed to end the fun business and money laundering. Christine Lagarde, speaking at a conference on January 13, said bitcoin had conducted some fun and interesting and totally reprehensible business and money laundering activities.
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