The UK’s NCA published in July 2025, with the FCA and validation from the Home Office and Treasury, a list of nine priorities against economic crime placing cryptoassets in third position. Operation Destabilise led to 128 arrests and the seizure of over 25 million pounds in the UK against Russophone networks laundering funds from drug trafficking. Operation Atlantic, conducted with Coinbase, Binance, Kraken and Tether, identified over 20,000 approval phishing victims and froze over 12 million dollars. A RUSI report cited by the NCA recommends not banning privacy tools, arguing that prohibition would push illicit actors toward unregulated services. Criminal groups are now outsourcing money laundering to specialized networks, using crypto tools and artificial intelligence to evade detection and move illicit funds at scale.
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