UK law enforcement just got a major boost in their fight against crime. The National Crime Agency (NCA) and local police now have the authority to seize, freeze, and destroy cryptocurrencies used by criminals. What’s the big deal? Well, they can now grab these digital assets before even slapping cuffs on anyone.
This change means UK cops can now also grab things like passwords or gadgets like USB drives if they think it’ll help them crack a case. There’s even a green light to completely wipe out a cryptocurrency if it’s better off out of circulation, thinking it could hurt us regular folks.
Fighting Crime with New Tech
Organized criminals—think drug lords, scam artists, and terrorists—are all over cryptocurrencies like flies on… well, you know. They launder money from their dirty deeds and even fund their operations using crypto. The NCA thinks these shady dealings in the UK could have hit over £1.2 billion in 2021 alone.
So, the government isn’t just sitting on its hands. They’ve revamped laws to make it easier for the police to go after these illegal crypto stashes. Now, police don’t need an arrest warrant to start seizing crypto they know was gotten by bad means. They can also now shift these assets into a wallet that only the law can touch—no more criminal control.
And if a cryptocurrency is too risky to send back out into the world—like those privacy coins that keep the owner’s identity super secret—the police can just destroy it. Plus, if you’re a victim, you might get a chance to claim your stolen crypto cash back.
A Bad Day to Be Bad
Home Secretary James Cleverly and Security Minister Tom Tugendhat were pretty blunt about it. These new rules are a nightmare for crooks. They said it’s a clear signal that crime doesn’t pay. And it’s not just talk. Earlier this year, the NCA and the US DEA took down a huge drug ring and grabbed $150 million in cash and crypto.
Not just drug money, though. Some guys selling fake drugs online for crypto got nabbed with £750,000, and they’re now behind bars for over 20 years. There’s even a VAT fraud gang that tried to play smart with non-fungible tokens (NFTs)—they got caught too.
Terror groups trying to fund their mess through crypto? Yep, they’re on the radar. One UK guy got 12 years for sending about £55,000 in Bitcoin to Daesh.
Adrian Searle from the National Economic Crime Centre says criminals are using crypto to move large amounts of money fast and pay for illegal stuff without being caught. Adrian Foster, Chief Crown Prosecutor, also chimed in, noting how vital it is that law folks can keep up with how fast crime is changing thanks to new tech like cryptocurrency.
Bottom line? The UK’s tougher on crime than ever, especially when it comes to the crypto kind. Criminals using crypto just got a new enemy, and it looks like the law is stepping up its game big time.