UK Authorities Act Against Crypto Firms After Receiving 16k Scam Inquiries

Key Insights:

• Between April and September last year, FCA received 16,400 inquiries about scams.
• Over the last six months, the authority has looked into businesses that didn’t register with the FCA.
• The regulatory body stated that it intends on being tougher with firms willing to operate in the UK.

In a press release today, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced its current plans pertaining to regulations.

Stating its achievement over the past few months, FCA declared that going forward, it will be taking a much stricter approach to preventing harm to the investors.

FCA Gets Rigid

Between April and September last year, the FCA received over 16,400 inquiries about possible scams. Amongst the scams inquired about crypto assets held the majority.

Thus FCA began their probe into potential scam crypto businesses and ended up with 300 open cases. These extended beyond scams as FCA supposed many of them to be unregistered by the authorities.

However, at the moment, 50 of them are under live investigation for being attached to criminal activities and unauthorized business activities.

As a result, the FCA has decided to become much more rigorous with its regulations and ensure that the investors remain safe from liabilities. In line with the same, Executive Director of Markets at the FCA, Sarah Pritchard, stated:

“Consumers need to have confidence when making investment decisions and the data we’ve published today shows how prevalent scams can be. Before investing, check you know who you are really dealing with, check if they are authorised by the FCA and do your research to understand the risks that might be posed. Find out how to avoid scams on the ScamSmart website and get tips on investing safely on the InvestSmart website.”

As per FCA’s Consumer data review report, the regulatory body managed to stop 1 in 4 firms from being registered owing to suspicions about the team behind it. It also added about 172 firms to its list of unregistered crypto businesses.

Furthermore, three individuals were sentenced to prison for fraudulent and unauthorized trading activities, misleading investors, and laundering money.

In the past, the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) had seized cryptocurrencies and NFTs in a $1.89 million tax fraud.

Crypto in the Kingdom

When it comes to regulation, cryptocurrencies do not have any special recognition. They are taxed within the same bracket as income is. But the growing adoption might push FCA to make some changes.