From London to Nairobi, Law Enforcement Intensifies Crackdown on Crypto P2P Trading
Key Takeaways
- •The FCA, HM Revenue & Customs, and the Metropolitan Police jointly targeted three London premises on September 10, 2026, issuing cease-and-desist letters to suspected unregistered P2P crypto businesses.
- •The September action followed an April 2026 operation against eight London premises, with evidence from that earlier raid now supporting criminal investigations and further enforcement.
- •According to the FCA, no P2P crypto businesses are currently registered in the UK, although personal crypto transactions between individuals remain legal without registration.
- •Kenya is pursuing a parallel approach, with its Capital Markets Authority reporting 16 entities under active investigation in September 2026 as the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025 licensing framework takes shape.
- •The FCA's operation came one day after it published final guidance on which crypto activities will require authorisation under the UK regime effective October 25, 2027, with applications opening September 30, 2026.
The crackdown on peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto trading is entering a new phase, and the shift is becoming visible on two continents. Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has carried out a second coordinated operation against suspected illegal P2P crypto businesses in London in less than six months, working alongside HM Revenue & Customs and the Metropolitan Police.
Related: REGULATION | U.K Regulator Conducts Second Law Enforcement P2P Crypto Crackdown in 6 Months
The latest operation, conducted on September 10, 2026, targeted three premises suspected of operating unregistered P2P crypto businesses. FCA officers issued cease-and-desist letters at all three locations.
The action follows an April 2026 operation in which the regulator targeted eight London premises. Evidence gathered during that earlier operation is now being used to support criminal investigations and further enforcement action.
The significance extends beyond the number of premises involved. The operations show that P2P crypto trading is increasingly moving from a regulatory compliance issue into a law enforcement issue. They also illustrate the multi-agency model now being applied to crypto enforcement: a markets regulator, the tax authority and the police working in a single coordinated action.
"Working with partners, we continue to track and disrupt illegal crypto activity. Anyone running an unregistered peer-to-peer crypto business should assume we are looking at them," said Steve Smart, the FCA's Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight.
According to the FCA, there are currently no registered P2P crypto businesses operating in the United Kingdom. Individuals remain free to buy and sell crypto with one another on a personal basis, but conducting the activity as a business requires appropriate registration. Authorities are particularly focused on the risk that unregistered traders could provide channels for criminals to move and launder illicit funds outside the controls designed to detect financial crime.
Related: CASE STUDY | Why the UK is Saying P2P Crypto Trading is a Regulated Activity
The Metropolitan Police is now explicitly part of that enforcement architecture. Detective Sergeant Sathish Alalasundaram said the complexity of crypto, and the speed at which funds can move across jurisdictions, present ongoing challenges for investigators. He added that police are adapting their investigative capabilities and disruption tactics as criminals change their methods.
Kenya provides an important African parallel. The country is moving from a largely grey crypto market toward a formal regulatory and enforcement framework following the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025 (VASP Act). The law requires businesses providing virtual-asset services in or from Kenya to obtain licences, while the regulatory architecture brings together the Central Bank of Kenya, the Capital Markets Authority and the Financial Reporting Centre (FRC), alongside investigative and law enforcement agencies.
The enforcement component is already becoming visible. In September 2026, Kenya Capital Markets Authority said 16 entities were subject to active investigations by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, the CMA and other law enforcement agencies over allegedly unlawful investment activity.
Kenyan authorities have also begun pursuing crypto-related fraud through existing criminal and financial laws. A 2026 legal review notes that Kenyan authorities arrested a Binance P2P trader linked to an alleged fraud case, while the exchange complied with a police request to restrict access to several P2P accounts.
Related: CRYPTO CRIME | Kenyan P2P Trader on Binance Arrested for Processing Funds Linked to Fraud
That development matters because P2P markets have historically provided one of the easiest ways for crypto users to enter and exit the banking system without interacting directly with a conventional exchange. As regulation becomes more sophisticated, that same feature is becoming an enforcement.
The first phase of crypto regulation was largely about warnings. Authorities cautioned consumers about scams, told businesses to register, and began building licensing frameworks. The next phase is increasingly about finding the operators. That means identifying unregistered traders, tracing transactions, freezing or restricting accounts, gathering evidence, investigating suspected money laundering and, where appropriate, pursuing criminal proceedings.
The UK is making that transition particularly visible. The FCA's September 2026 operation came just one day after the regulator published final guidance explaining which crypto activities will require authorisation under Britain's incoming crypto regime, which takes effect on October 25, 2027. Applications for authorisation open on September 30, 2026.
Related: REGULATION | U.K Publishes Final Guidance on Regulated Crypto Activities
The sequence creates an important distinction: regulation is building the perimeter, while law enforcement is beginning to patrol it. For P2P markets, that distinction could become increasingly important across jurisdictions.
The issue is not that individuals buying and selling crypto directly are suddenly illegal. In the UK, personal P2P transactions do not require FCA registration. The enforcement focus is on businesses conducting crypto exchange activity without the required registration. But as countries introduce licensing, anti-money-laundering (AML) requirements, transaction monitoring and reporting obligations, commercially operated P2P networks are likely to face increasing scrutiny.
Related: CRYPTO CRIME | Major P2P Crypto Platform, NoOnes, Shuts Down After Sanctions Disrupt Operations
The transition is particularly significant as countries develop and legalize VASP frameworks explicitly designed to strengthen AML/CFT controls and bring crypto activity into the formal financial system. Regulators and investigative agencies are being equipped to monitor and investigate virtual-asset activity.
The result is a fundamental change in the operating environment. Crypto enforcement is no longer confined to exchanges and licensed financial institutions. The P2P trader, the broker, the cash dealer and the informal crypto desk are increasingly becoming part of the enforcement map.
London is showing what that looks like in practice. Nairobi may be moving toward the same model. For Kenya, the near-term markers are already defined: the outcome of the 16 active investigations and the pace of licensing under the VASP Act.
Source: BitcoinKE
