Money laundering: London police seize 294 million pounds worth of crypto
2 min readTL;DR Breakdown
- More than $408 million worth crypto seized in money laundering related act by London police.
- British detectives focus on crypto crimes to stop money laundering acts.
London police authorities seized 294 million pounds worth of cryptocurrency. The British agents found $408 million in laundered money from illicit acts and discovered that a criminal group in the region used cryptocurrencies to evade the law.
The police authority announced days ago that it had extracted up to 180 million pounds in crypto. This apprehension was achieved in less than one month of having incarcerated a criminal group that owned 114 million pounds in crypto. Both crimes were classified as money laundering acts because there was no valid income justification.
Money laundering crimes on the rise in Europe
A police officer in London indicates that although physical money is still a means of money laundering, there are also alternatives. As the cryptocurrency market increases in size, organized crime is also rising on the London streets. Criminals take advantage of crypto confidentiality policies between transfers to carry out their crimes.
In less than a week, a young woman in Europe was jailed because she laundered money with cryptocurrencies. This crime was taken by the authorities in London, who discovered a net worth of 180 million pounds. However, there is insufficient evidence, and the woman may be released in the coming weeks.
Europe’s police fight crypto crime
These seizures in London and parts of Europe show how the police fight crypto crime with increased pressure. Detectives in the region specialize every day in money laundering that puts crypto credibility at risk. While BTC and other tokens do not need an identity to carry out transactions, they were not created for crimes.
These legal issues also affect crypto companies that have had a dark outlook with regulators in the UK. However, many people in Europe negotiate with them and believe in its promising future.
The capital city authorities in England need to strengthen the rules about money laundering for it to stop. But several countries globally promote the use of cryptocurrencies supported by respective central banks. With an ecosystem similar to USDT linked to the US dollar, this crypto has no launch date, but the UK supports it.
Crypto crimes in London can only be reigned when decentralized tokens are banned, and centralized tokens are promoted. These cryptocurrencies approved by the government will ask for the user’s identity to avoid crime.
