See How the UK is Boosting its Fight Against Financial Crimes
- The UK is one of the countries to step up its plans to regulate the crypto industry.
Financial crimes are steadily becoming a part of our world today, with the crypto industry taking the center stage in this regard. Several top organizations have suffered losses totaling billions of dollars since the year began. Digital fraudsters have also become innovative in carrying out their craft, and almost no one is spared from their attack.
A few days ago, the British army’s official Twitter and YouTube pages were hacked and used to promote fraudulent links. Since the year began, the country has been tightening up security to prevent risks posed by hackers and recently recruited security experts to work with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
According to reports, the Financial Conduct Authority has hired close to 500 additional employees this year, which is part of its three-year strategy. The new addition included six new directors, two of whom have policing backgrounds. The UK regulator announced their appointments on July 5.
The body also created the position of director of payments and digital assets, which it says will supervise the markets for e-money, transactions, and crypto-assets. The newly formed position will also oversee the implementation of relevant policies.
Matthew Long, formerly of the National Crime Agency, was assigned to the new position and is now a director at the National Economic Crime Command. Long, who begins his new role in October, has had several years of experience working with various regulatory agencies. He previously headed the UK Financial Intelligence Unit and has a Ph.D. in risk management. Long started out in law enforcement as a detective in Kent. His addition to the team signals the ambition of the UK Financial Conduct Authority.
The UK Steps Up its Fight Against Financial Crime
This recruitment will help the UK in its fight against crimes in the digital space. Authorities around the world are concerned about the potential of digital assets to be used for money laundering and to finance terrorism.
The majority of organized crime is supported and made possible through money laundering, which allows criminal organizations to expand their operations and hide their assets. Although there are no precise numbers, it is conceivable that the annual impact of financial fraud on the UK runs into hundreds of billions of pounds.
Financial crime has the ability to jeopardize the UK’s national security and the stability of the UK financial system. The financial system is a huge aspect of the UK economy, so the country is throwing all its resources at tightening loose ends.
Amid the ongoing decline in the crypto market, the Bank of England recently called for stricter rules in the crypto space. In light of the growing use of cryptocurrencies, the UK is the latest country to step up efforts to regulate the sector thoroughly.
In terms of acceptance, the nation is a top location for decentralized finance (DeFi). According to a Chainalysis report, cryptocurrency investors invested $170 billion in DeFi platforms between June 2020 and July 2021, the largest in Europe during that time. It appears to be only a matter of time before crypto is fully regulated in the UK.
Lawrence has covered some exciting stories in his career as a journalist, he finds blockchain-related stories very intriguing. He believes Web3 will change the world and wants everyone to be a part of it.
