British Authorities Raid Illegal Crypto ATMs Operating in the City of Leeds

British authorities have illegal crypto ATMs. (Photo; Doc. Yahoo Finance)

JAKARTA - Several locations around the city of Leeds have been raided by UK authorities in a crackdown on illegal crypto ATMs. The raids followed a joint investigation between the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the country's main financial regulator, and the West Yorkshire Police's Digital Intelligence and Investigations Unit.

FCA announced on Tuesday 14th February that it "has used its power to enter and inspect several sites in the vicinity of Leeds suspected of hosting illegally operated crypto ATMs." The FCA insists that "Crypto exchange providers, including crypto ATM operators, in the UK must be registered with the FCA and comply with UK money laundering regulations," confirming that "no crypto ATM operator currently has FCA registration."

The UK financial regulator also noted that it is "working closely with various law enforcement partners, including local police, to disrupt and deactivate illegal crypto ATMs." FCA stated that they would review the evidence gathered during the raid and "consider further enforcement action."

West Yorkshire Police have identified several illegal crypto ATMs operating in their area. This was revealed after the Cyber Force team carried out investigations and collected evidence throughout West Yorkshire.

This disclosure reinforces a warning issued by the UK financial watchdog in March last year, that no crypto asset companies registered in the UK were approved to offer crypto ATM services. Therefore, crypto ATMs operating in the UK without a permit are considered illegal.

In his statement, Detective Sergeant Lindsey Brants of the Force Cyber team explained that they had located several active crypto ATM locations in West Yorkshire and had issued a letter warning the operators of those machines to stop using the machines. He also emphasized that any violation of the regulations will result in an investigation under the money laundering regulations.

The executive director of Market Enforcement and Monitoring at FCA, Mark Steward, said they will continue to identify and disrupt unregistered crypto businesses operating in the UK. However, he cautioned that crypto products themselves are currently unregulated and high-risk, and people should be prepared to lose all their money if they invest in them.

Crypto businesses operating in the UK must be registered with the FCA for anti-money laundering purposes. Therefore, the public is encouraged to use crypto ATMs that are only operated by crypto asset companies registered with the FCA to minimize risk and avoid using illegal crypto ATMs.