Regulations

Story: UK Unveils £500 Million Anti-Money Laundering Strategy Targeting Crypto and Fintech

By Bruce Buterin

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Crypto and Fintech in the Crosshairs. Here's the number that matters most to anyone watching the digital asset space.

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What's Already Been Recovered. The government didn't come to this announcement empty-handed.

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High Street Crackdowns and Supervision Reform. The High Street Organised Crime Unit gets a mention in the strategy, and it's worth paying…

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The UK just dropped half a billion pounds on fighting dirty money. Five hundred new officers, a sweeping new strategy, and a clear target: the criminal networks moving billions…

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The government's Anti-Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Strategy is the framework behind all of it.

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Here's the number that matters most to anyone watching the digital asset space. The NCA puts the volume of money laundered through the UK annually at over £100 billion.

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That's not a vague accusation. It's basically the central justification for why the government is building what it calls a sophisticated financial intelligence service —…

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The NCA's Operation Destabilise is probably the clearest example of what this strategy wants to replicate.

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The government didn't come to this announcement empty-handed. In a recent year-long crackdown, £350 million in illicit funds was recovered.

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That's real money. And the plan is to keep reinvesting a portion of what's seized back into public services and law enforcement — a kind of self-funding loop that makes the…

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Related: Crypto Billionaires Propel Reform UK with £85 Million Amid Investigations

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Not all of the fight is happening in boardrooms and courtrooms, either.

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The High Street Organised Crime Unit gets a mention in the strategy, and it's worth paying attention to. Rogue vape shops, dodgy barber shops — these aren't just nuisances.

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Anti-money laundering supervision is also getting an overhaul. Professional services — the lawyers, accountants, and financial intermediaries who can either help or hinder the…

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Public-private collaboration is a big piece of this too. The government wants the private sector — banks, fintechs, payment platforms — working more closely with intelligence…

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