The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and the Metropolitan Police have carried out a joint operation against three London premises suspected of hosting illegal peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto trading, extending a crackdown on unregistered crypto businesses operating outside the country's anti-money laundering regime.

The September 10 action resulted in cease-and-desist letters being issued at all three premises, requiring the traders to stop their suspected illegal crypto business activity. The FCA announced the operation on September 17 in an official press release.

No Registered P2P Crypto Businesses Operate in the UK

Businesses that buy and sell crypto directly with customers in the UK must obtain the appropriate registration when the activity is conducted commercially. According to the FCA, there are currently no registered peer-to-peer crypto businesses operating in the country — meaning any commercial P2P trading observed in the UK sits, by definition, outside the FCA's anti-money laundering oversight.

Commercial P2P operators fall within the scope of the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017, which impose controls designed to detect and prevent illicit financial flows. Personal peer-to-peer transactions between individuals, by contrast, do not require FCA registration.

Steve Smart, the FCA's executive director of enforcement and market oversight, warned that anyone running an unregistered P2P crypto business should "assume we are looking at them."

The Metropolitan Police noted that the speed at which crypto can move across jurisdictions continues to complicate financial crime investigations, requiring law enforcement agencies to expand their investigative and disruption capabilities.

April Sweep Now Supporting Criminal Investigations

The latest operation follows an April crackdown across eight London premises carried out by the FCA, HMRC and the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit. Authorities issued cease-and-desist letters at all eight locations and collected evidence that is now supporting criminal investigations and other enforcement action. Taken together, the two operations mark a second round of premises visits in London this year under the same enforcement push.

The FCA has also pursued illegal crypto ATMs and previously supported arrests connected to a suspected unregistered crypto exchange.

HMRC has intensified its scrutiny from another direction, sending 81,172 crypto compliance warnings during the 2025-26 financial year as the UK stepped up reporting and enforcement around digital asset transactions.

Broader UK Crypto Rules Take Effect in October 2027

The enforcement action comes as Britain prepares to replace its narrower crypto framework with a broader authorization regime covering exchanges, custodians, staking providers, intermediaries and qualifying stablecoin businesses. The FCA finalized its wider crypto rulebook in June, including requirements covering custody, market abuse, disclosures, operational controls and prudential standards.

Firms can begin applying for authorization on September 30, 2026, with the application window remaining open until February 28, 2027 — the route into the new framework for businesses in these categories. The new regulatory regime takes effect on October 25, 2027, while anti-money laundering registration and financial promotion requirements continue to apply under the existing framework until then, leaving unregistered activity subject to the current rules throughout the transition.