UK Home Office allocates $676M and 500 new officers to combat money laundering, naming crypto as a primary threat vector.
Regulation & Gov ·
The UK Home Office is allocating £500 million over three years and recruiting 500 officers across law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies to combat money laundering, with the National Crime Agency identifying cryptocurrency alongside fintech and artificial intelligence as key drivers of an estimated £100 billion in annual illicit financial flows through the country. The investment will expand Operation Destabilise, an investigation into networks converting cash to crypto for organized crime groups, which has resulted in 119 suspected arrests and over £25 million in seized assets within its first year. The NCA has designated cryptoassets as its third-highest economic crime priority and is seeking to develop expanded capability to detect and disrupt criminal use of crypto products at scale.