HM Treasury proposed changes to the Money Laundering Regulations (MLR), including stricter requirements for regional cryptocurrency companies.
The U.K. Treasury published a consultation paper proposing amendments to the Money Laundering Regulations (MLR) that would affect the regulation of crypto companies in the region.
A number of the proposed amendments aim to strengthen oversight and change the approach to regulating crypto companies in the U.K. Under current legislation, some cryptocurrency companies still need to be subject to the supervision of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the country’s main regulator of the crypto market. Under the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA), the FCA can only regulate crypto companies if the digital assets are property or financial instruments.
HM Treasury proposes to expand the FCA’s powers and the scope of the FSMA. The regulator will also supervise crypto companies that exchange and store digital assets. All firms working with digital assets in the region will be required to register and comply with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing legislation.
Due to the shortcomings of the United Kingdom’s legislative framework, the region became the largest “supplier” of fraudulent crypto companies. In 2023, the U.K. authorities strengthened control over the crypto market to combat economic crime.
