More authority to seize crypto with a British law agency
The new powers allow for improved methods to combat cryptocurrency-related crime, meaning that the British National Crime Agency (NCA) will no longer need to make an arrest before taking cryptocurrency from a suspect.
The U.K. government has updated its proceeds of crime and terror legislation, allowing law enforcement agencies to investigate, seize, and recover illicit cryptocurrency more effectively.
This represents a significant shift in the nation’s approach to combating illicit activities involving cryptocurrency, according to an official statement released on April 26.
The modifications permit the confiscation of objects supporting investigations, permit the seizure of cryptocurrency by police without an arrest, and move illicit cryptocurrency into a restricted digital wallet that is unaccessible by criminals.
Furthermore, “items that could be used to give information to help an investigation, such as written passwords or memory sticks,” can now be seized by law enforcement agents.
“These reforms will also enhance our national security. Terrorist organisations like Daesh are known to raise funds through crypto transactions and these updated powers will enable our agencies to more easily strip them of their assets.”
Home Secretary James Cleverly
According to the NCA, criminal organizations such as drug dealers, fraudsters, and terrorists are using cryptocurrency more and more to generate money and launder illicit gains. They estimate that in 2021, illicit cryptocurrency transactions connected to the U.K. would total at least £1.2 billion, or almost $1.5 billion at the current exchange rate.
The British law enforcement agency claims that with the most recent version, it hopes to prevent criminals from “undermining the legitimate use of crypto” while simultaneously promoting the growth of crypto as a possible engine of economic expansion.
