The Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom has announced to tighten the operations on illegal crypto ATMs operating in the ccountry. This is a part of the authority’s regulatory efforts to curb the illegal activities that take place in the name of cryptocurrency. All these activities come under the Money Laundering Act of 2017.
FCA Registration- A Must to Operate ATMs
According to an official statement dated 5th May, the authority has partnered with local authorities to bust the illegal crypto ATMs operating in the cities of Nottingham, Sheffield and Exeter. The executive Director of Enforcement Therese Chambers said that any crypto ATM operating without the registration of FCA is illegal and he also said that the authority is trying hard to stop these illegal activities.
The FCA also said that they were using the evidence gathered from the previous inspections that occurred in Leeds and East London but they were not aware what further actions they had to take.The authorities also believe that these machines are used for various illegal activities including money laundering and funding terrorist activities because of their anonymous feature.
No Permission to Operate Crypto ATM in the UK-FCA
According to the FCA, crypto ATMs allow people to directly buy digital assets without the use of banking system because people can buy the digital assets with cash and the transaction cannot be traced.
In order to provide crypto services, any company registered in the UK must comply with the Money Laundering Act of the United Kingdom. Currently there are 17 crypto ATMs in the UK offered by 40 companies.
