UK regulators raid three London sites in crypto crackdown

UK financial regulators and police raided three London premises on September 10, 2026, targeting suspected illegal peer-to-peer cryptocurrency trading operations in a coordinated enforcement action. The Financial Conduct Authority, working alongside HM Revenue and Customs and the Metropolitan Police, issued cease-and-desist letters at all three locations, ordering traders to halt any suspected illegal crypto business. The operation marks the second coordinated sweep against unregistered peer-to-peer crypto traders in six months, following a similar action in April that targeted eight London locations. Evidence gathered during that earlier operation is now supporting active criminal investigations, according to the FCA. Under the UK's 2017 money laundering regulations, anyone conducting peer-to-peer crypto trading by way of business must register with the FCA. However, the regulator stated that no peer-to-peer crypto business is currently registered anywhere in the United Kingdom, meaning any such commercial operation is unregistered by default.