According to a letter published on Thursday by an official, the U.K.’s financial regulator rejected several cryptocurrency companies that attempted to register with it to operate in the country.
In a letter dated January 19 to the Treasury Select Committee, Sarah Pritchard, the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) executive director of markets supervision, policy, and competition, stated that they have identified possible financial crime or direct links to organized crime in few instances and that they have informed about these instances torelevant law enforcement agencies.
The agency announced on Wednesday that it had received 300 applications from cryptocurrency businesses asking for permission to accept customers in the nation under its anti-money laundering regulations. 29 of the 300 applicants were turned down because they did not comply with the FCA’s conditions for approval. According to the FCA, only 41 companies could register with the regulator, while 195 had their applications rejected or were forced to withdraw.
Since it was necessary, the agency has come under fire for its uncompromising position on cryptocurrencies, according to FCA CEO Nikhil Rathi, who made the statement in a meeting in November.
Pritchard said in the letter that the high rejection rate was due to The FCA’s aggressive stance during authorization, which considerably lowered the danger of crime.
The U.K. has stepped up its efforts to regulate cryptocurrency. Across the country, the police have deployed crypto-tactical advisors. The Financial Services and Markets Bill may increase the FCA’s authority to regulate the sector.
At the same time, the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill, which is currently being debated in Parliament, will give law enforcement agencies more authority to seize and freeze cryptocurrency used in illegal activities. The FCA refused to say how many cryptocurrency businesses it had referred to law enforcement.