FCA leads London crypto trader raids
- UK regulators carried out multi-agency raids targeting peer-to-peer crypto traders across London. - The FCA found zero legally registered P2P crypto traders and shifted from warnings to physical enforcement. - The operation signals tougher oversight of crypto trading in the capital amid regulatory concerns (decrypt.co).
The Financial Conduct Authority led raids on eight London sites this week in its first coordinated crackdown on illegal peer-to-peer crypto trading. (coindesk.com) The FCA said officers visited the premises on Tuesday morning, served cease-and-desist letters, and gathered evidence now being used in criminal investigations. HM Revenue & Customs and the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit joined the operation. (decrypt.co) Peer-to-peer crypto trading means buyers and sellers deal directly instead of using an exchange. In the UK, firms doing that business must register with the FCA under money-laundering rules before they start operating. (fca.org.uk) The FCA says it has zero registered peer-to-peer crypto traders or platforms in the country. Steve Smart, the regulator’s executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said unregistered traders “pose a financial crime risk.” (decrypt.co) The raids land as the UK is building a broader crypto rulebook that will start taking authorization applications on Sept. 30, 2026, ahead of a new regime due in October 2027. Until then, the FCA says crypto is largely regulated through financial-promotion and financial-crime rules. (fca.org.uk) The enforcement push follows earlier FCA action against crypto ATMs and illegal exchange businesses. In July 2025, the regulator and Metropolitan Police searched four southwest London premises, seized seven crypto ATMs, and arrested two people on suspicion of money laundering and running an illegal cryptoasset exchange. (fca.org.uk) The FCA has been moving from warnings to prosecutions. In February 2025, Olumide Osunkoya was sentenced to four years in prison for illegally operating a crypto ATM network tied to more than £2.5 million in activity, according to the regulator. (fca.org.uk) Police involved in the new London operation framed the case around money laundering rather than crypto trading itself. Detective Inspector Ross Flay said officers want to stop unregistered traders from giving criminals a way to “move, disguise, and spend illegal money.” (decrypt.co) For now, the practical line from the regulator is simple: if a business is exchanging crypto in the UK without FCA registration, it is operating illegally. This week’s London raids show the watchdog is enforcing that line in person, not just online or on paper. (fca.org.uk)
