According to the latest report from the department, experts highlight that cryptocurrency, banking, and asset management posed the highest money laundering risks between 2022 and 2023.
The document titled “Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing” reveals that during the reported period, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) deployed over 50 financial crime experts to scrutinize the operations of 238 firms, with around one-third focusing on supervising crypto entities.
“As part of the FCA’s risk-based approach, it applied a robust assessment process at the registration gateway for these businesses, and identified significant weaknesses in firms’ controls, resulting in a large number of firms withdrawing their applications or being rejected or refused by the FCA.” – UK Treasury report
External watchdog organizations, apart from the primary FCA team, have initiated an additional 375 cases concerning financial crime. Among these, the report notes that 95 investigations are linked to cryptocurrencies.
In October 2023, the FCA announced that crypto firms were failing to adhere to new marketing regulations. The regulatory body issued 221 warnings for non-compliance and identified three common deficiencies among cryptocurrency companies. It further declared its intention to take enforcement action against non-compliant firms.
The announcement followed the initiation of the UK’s enforcement of marketing regulations for crypto firms. These regulations mandate that advertising by such firms must be transparent, equitable, and devoid of any misleading information.
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