The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), working alongside HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and the Metropolitan Police, has issued cease and desist orders to three London premises suspected of serving as outlets for illegal peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto businesses. No arrests were disclosed during the sweep, which marks the regulator's second such operation in 2026.

The action comes alongside recent documents from the regulator detailing the particulars of the crypto regime due to take effect in 2027, leaving businesses running illegal crypto trading operations in the UK firmly on alert.

Unregistered P2P crypto firms fall within the FCA's scope

In its September 17 statement, the FCA said it had sent letters on September 10 ordering traders at multiple locations to halt any suspected illegal crypto activity. Businesses need FCA authorization to run a peer-to-peer crypto trading operation — a model in which individuals buy and sell crypto directly with one another rather than through a centralized intermediary — and according to the regulator, no entity is currently registered to operate such a business in the UK. As things stand, that places every P2P trading business operating in the country outside the regulator's perimeter.

Operators that secure FCA registration fall under its anti-money laundering supervision. These unregistered operators sit outside the channels the UK relies on to monitor illicit money flows. Consumers can verify whether a crypto firm is registered through the FCA's Firm Checker. The operation was carried out under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017.

"Working with partners, we continue to track and disrupt illegal crypto activity," said Steve Smart, the FCA's executive director of enforcement and market oversight. "Anyone running an unregistered peer-to-peer crypto business should assume we are looking at them."

Detective Sergeant Sathish Alalasundaram of the Metropolitan Police sounded the same warning, saying the force is adapting as criminals change their tactics.

The UK moves to bring crypto under a regulatory umbrella

The September action followed an earlier operation in April, when the FCA, HMRC and the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit inspected eight London sites. The regulator said evidence gathered in that sweep is now being used in active criminal investigations and for further enforcement.

The FCA is also adding crypto convictions to its record. It played a pivotal role in Olumide Osunkoya receiving a four-year sentence for running an unregistered crypto ATM network between December 2021 and September 2023. The first conviction of its kind in the UK dismantled an operation that had processed £2.6 million in lifetime, and underscored that running an unregistered crypto business carries criminal penalties. The regulator has also arrested two other individuals suspected of operating a separate illegal crypto exchange.

Outside anti-money laundering and financial promotion rules, crypto remains largely unregulated in the UK until October 25, 2027, when the country's full cryptoasset regime takes effect. The FCA opened its authorization gateway for firms on September 30, 2026, and published guidance the same week on which activities will require clearance, Cryptopolitan reported. The gateway gives firms a formal route to seek clearance before the regime begins, while the April and September operations show the regulator actively enforcing the rules that apply in the meantime.