The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), United Kingdom’s financial regulator, has “disrupted” about 26 of the 34 cryptocurrency ATMs it visited and inspected since the start of 2023, stated Cointelegraph.
Sources revealed that on February 14, 2023, the FCA made a final announcement to all cryptocurrency ATM operators in the UK to comply with regulations or wind down illegal operations. It is expected that after the warning, the FCA and other law enforcement agencies investigated about 36 cryptocurrency ATM locations using powers under money laundering regulations, Cointelegraph added.
“Cryptocurrency ATMs operating without FCA registration are illegal. The action we’ve taken over the past few months and wider work shows that we will act to stop illegal activity,” Financial Conduct Authority tweeted.
It is expected that “If you use a cryptocurrency ATM in the UK, you are using a machine that is operating illegally and you may be handing your money over to criminals,” Steve Smart, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight, Financial Conduct Authority told Cointelegraph.
(With insights from Cointelegraph)