On May 1, 2024, the UK Treasury presented a report on the department’s work over the past two years. Experts concluded that from 2022 to 2023, cryptocurrency, along with banking and asset management, created the greatest risks associated with money laundering.
The Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism document states that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) employed more than 50 financial crime specialists during the reporting period. Of these, approximately a third of the employees were involved in overseeing the activities of crypto firms.
In analyzing the data, the FCA examined the activities of 238 firms. It should be noted that the department is the main financial regulator in the UK and, since 2020, has provided registration of companies whose activities are related to digital assets.
“Based on its risk assessment, the FCA believes that crypto asset management firms remain particularly vulnerable to financial crime. They pose the greatest risk of being used for money laundering,” the department said.
Other watchdog groups outside the core FCA staff are reported to have opened a further 375 cases related to financial crime. Among them, 95 investigations are related to cryptocurrencies, the report says.
