UK financial regulator targets three London sites for unregistered crypto trading

The UK's Financial Conduct Authority, alongside HM Revenue & Customs and the Metropolitan Police, targeted three London premises on September 10, 2026, issuing cease and desist letters to suspected unregistered peer-to-peer crypto traders. This second joint sweep of 2026 highlights a major regulatory shift away from a "light-touch" era. Currently, no P2P crypto businesses are registered in the UK, meaning all such commercial operations are illegal and evade anti-money laundering controls.

FCA London P2P crypto raids

• ▪The Financial Conduct Authority stated that evidence collected during an April 2026 sweep of eight London sites is currently supporting active criminal investigations and further enforcement
• ▪UK authorities issued cease and desist letters at all three targeted London premises on September 10, 2026, ordering the suspected illegal businesses to stop operating.
• ▪The Financial Conduct Authority, HM Revenue & Customs, and the Metropolitan Police visited three London premises on September 10, 2026, to target suspected unregistered peer-to-peer crypto trading.
• ▪The September 10, 2026 operation represents the second joint crackdown on unregistered peer-to-peer crypto traders in London during 2026, following an initial sweep of eight sites in April 2026.

UK crypto registration regime

• ▪The United Kingdom's full cryptoasset regulatory framework is scheduled to take effect on October 25, 2027, with the Financial Conduct Authority opening its authorization application window from September 30, 2026, through February 28, 2027.
• ▪The Financial Conduct Authority published guidance detailing which activities, including issuing stablecoins, operating exchanges, and staking, will require approval under the UK's incoming cryptoasset regulatory regime set to take effect on October 25, 2027
• ▪The Financial Conduct Authority stated that there are currently no registered peer-to-peer crypto businesses operating anywhere in the United Kingdom.
• ▪Anyone buying and selling cryptocurrency directly with others as a business in the United Kingdom must register with the Financial Conduct Authority, though personal transactions do not require registration.

Money laundering enforcement rationale

• ▪Detective Sergeant Sathish Alalasundaram of the Metropolitan Police stated that the complexity of crypto and the speed of cross-jurisdictional fund movements present ongoing challenges for investigators.
• ▪The Financial Conduct Authority previously secured a four-year prison sentence against Olumide Osunkoya for operating an unregistered crypto ATM network that processed £2.6 million in volume.
• ▪The joint operation on September 10, 2026, was conducted under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017.
• ▪The Financial Conduct Authority stated that unregistered peer-to-peer crypto traders operate outside anti-money laundering controls, providing a route for criminals to move and launder illicit funds.

Regulatory shift from light-touch era

• ▪Cryptocurrency remains largely unregulated in the United Kingdom except for anti-money laundering requirements and rules governing financial promotions.
• ▪Caroline Black, a consultant at Gherson Solicitors LLP, stated that the September 10, 2026 operation targeting three London premises, the second coordinated enforcement operation in six months, confirms the Financial Conduct Authority's shift toward active disruption of unregistered crypto businesses