On 30 March, the United Kingdom government unveiled the plan to regulate crypto under the economic crime plan. Amidst the rising economic crime activities in the country, the United Kingdom government stepped up to tackle this problem.
According to reports, the UK government wants to control crimes and better management related to crypto. The policy paper released by the government was part of the United Kingdom’s economic crime plan 2023-26. Additionally, the UK Treasury and Home Office informed that they will recruit talents from various sectors like crypto experts and cybersecurity experts.
Many countries worldwide are trying to regulate cryptocurrencies in an organized way and make them free from any unforeseen potential fraud. To protect its citizens it is necessary to launch a comprehensive crypto policy. The UK Home Office tweet sends a strong message to corrupt elites and fraudulent platforms. In the tweet shared by the United Kingdom Home Office, it stated ” We’re coming for the corrupt elites and criminals that abuse our financial system.”
Several incidents related to crypto frauds forced the United Kingdom government to ensure the security and confidence of stakeholders in the country’s crypto regulation. Previously the UK has been very active in sending strong messages to the corrupt for example, in January the UK court sued four men and sentenced them to 15 years in prison for illegally obtaining and laundering bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies.
According to the policy paper, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which proactively regulates cryptocurrencies in the United Kingdom will help in international collaboration to bring more sophisticated technologies regarding crypto regulation. It also added that in 2021 the illegal crypto transactions were $1.24 billion which is 1% of the total transactions value and even more.
The United Kingdom government is taking several proactive steps in combating crypto. In October 2022, it was reported that UK police were providing training related to crypto regulation to officers in every department. Additionally, a few days back the United Kingdom introduced a separate category for crypto assets in the tax return form.
