FCA continues crackdown on unregistered Crypto ATMs in the UK

Rick Steves

“Criminals will use crypto ATMs to launder illegally obtained cash, so we were pleased to assist our colleagues at the FCA in targeting businesses in the region displaying these machines without authorization.”

The Financial Conduct Authority announced it is still cracking down on unregistered crypto ATM activity in the United Kingdom.

As part of a joint operation with the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit, Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit, and the Nottinghamshire Police force, the regulator is inspecting sites in Exeter, Nottingham, and Sheffield suspected of hosting illegally operated crypto ATMs.

Crypto ATMs allow people to buy or convert money into cryptoassets. There are no crypto ATM operators registered with the FCA, which they must be to operate legally. The crackdown on this illicit sector proceeds as authorities believe that operators use crypto ATMs to launder illegally obtained cash. 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 Oversight at the FCA, said: “Crypto ATMs operating without FCA registration are illegal. The action we’ve taken over the past few months and wider work shows that we will act to stop illegal activity. Besides disrupting unregistered crypto businesses, the joint efforts have helped raise awareness of illegally operated crypto ATMs in the UK among the public. This is especially important as crypto products are high risk and not currently regulated. That means you should be prepared to lose all your money if you invest in them.”

Peter Highway, Economic Crime Unit Manager at the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU), said: “Criminals will use crypto ATMs to launder illegally obtained cash, so we were pleased to assist our colleagues at the FCA in targeting businesses in the region displaying these machines without authorization.”

Ramona Senior, Head of Economic Crime at the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit (YH ROCU), said: “Our Regional Cyber Crime Unit officers are pleased to work jointly with the Financial Conduct Authority and other partner agencies to target the use of unregulated crypto ATMs. Machines such as these are a key component in the facilitation of money laundering and the movement of funds acquired through criminal activity.”

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

While the FCA hasn’t given the go-ahead to any crypto firm offering ATM services, there are nearly 100 crypto ATMs in the United Kingdom, according to the Coin ATM Radar site.

The FCA has announced it will contact every single one of these crypto firms and tell them to shut down their ATMs, otherwise, they will face further action.

The regulatory body has been quite busy with crypto-related firms. In March, the regulator revealed that it opened over 300 cases related to crypto firms in a six-month period last year and has 50 live investigations, including criminal probes, into companies in the sector.

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