The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), together with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and London’s Metropolitan Police Service, raided three London premises suspected of hosting illegal peer-to-peer crypto trading on September 10, 2026. The regulator announced the coordinated operation on September 17, 2026.
At all three locations, authorities issued cease-and-desist letters requiring the suspected unregistered businesses to stop operating. The operation marks the second time this year the FCA has moved against unregistered P2P crypto businesses, following an earlier coordinated crackdown in April that targeted eight London P2P crypto locations.
Steve Smart, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: “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.”
The FCA warned that unregistered P2P operators can provide a route for criminals to move and launder illicit funds by avoiding anti-money laundering controls. The regulator noted that there are currently no FCA-registered peer-to-peer crypto businesses operating in the UK.
Evidence gathered during the April operation is now being used to support criminal investigations and other enforcement action. Detective sergeant Sathish Alalasundaram of the Metropolitan Police Service said law enforcement and partner agencies “are working significantly hard to tackle criminal activity involving digital assets,” citing the speed at which funds can move across jurisdictions as an ongoing challenge.
The action follows guidance the FCA published earlier in the week clarifying how the UK’s incoming cryptoasset regime applies to firms. Consumers can check whether a crypto firm is correctly registered using the FCA’s Firm Checker.
