UK’s FCA Continues Crackdown on Unregistered Crypto ATMs
The regulator, along with local police, raided sites in Exeter, Nottingham and Sheffield, saying that the cash-to-crypto converters are unlawful and a money laundering threat.
May 5, 2023 at 9:19 a.m. UTC:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/IASA5KA4DVFI3OW5ZRUD7IBZ2U.jpg)
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U.K.'s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), is continuing its crackdown on unlawful crypto ATMs.
The FCA said it has inspected sites in Exeter, Nottingham and Sheffield alongside the regional police. The devices for turning fiat currency into crypto are seen as a money laundering threat, and none are logged with the FCA as is required by law, the regulator said in a statement on Friday.
“Crypto ATMs operating without FCA registration are illegal,” said Therese Chambers, the FCA’s Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight. “We will act to stop illegal activity.”
The FCA said it was reviewing the evidence gained from its inspection, but did not specify what further action, if any, might be taken. The raids follow enforcement action in Leeds and East London that were announced in March.
There are 17 crypto ATMs in the U.K., according to the CoinATMRadar website, but the FCA says that none of the 40 or so registered crypto companies are permitted to offer that service.
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Jack Schickler was a CoinDesk reporter focused on crypto regulations, based in Brussels, Belgium. He doesn’t own any crypto.