The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), working with the Metropolitan Police Service, has conducted an operation to arrest two individuals, aged 38 and 44, suspected of running an illegal cryptoasset exchange.
More than £1bn of unregistered cryptoassets are believed to have been bought and sold through this business.
The FCA inspected the offices associated with the suspects and the police seized several digital devices during searches of two residential London properties.
Both suspects were interviewed under caution by the FCA and released on bail. The FCA’s investigation into the case is ongoing.
Cryptoasset exchange providers must be registered with the FCA and comply with the UK money laundering regulations in order to operate legally in the UK.
Therese Chambers, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: ‘The FCA has an important role to play in keeping dirty money out of the UK financial system. These arrests show we will do everything in our power to stop crypto firms from operating illegally in the UK.’
