UK Law Enforcement Gains Power to Freeze and Seize Crypto Assets; Plans for Stablecoin Regulation in the Pipeline
Summary:
The UK government released legal documentation indicating that UK law enforcement can freeze crypto assets involved in crime without requiring conviction starting at the end of April. The amendment to the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 also allows authorities to retrieve crypto assets from exchanges and wallet providers, and if necessary, destroy them. The legislation aims to intensify the crackdown on crimes like cyber scams, drug trafficking, and others involving cryptocurrencies. However, concerns have been raised about authorities' capabilities in handling such crimes. In parallel, the government announced plans to regulate stablecoins and crypto staking within six months.
Recent legal documentation, known as the Statutory Instrument, released by the United Kingdom government, has indicated that the country's law enforcement agencies will have the license to freeze criminal-associated crypto assets without a conviction requirement starting from the end of April. This amendment to the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 was outlined in the document published on February 29. The Act, which received amendments extending the power of the National Crime Agency enables the confiscation and capture of crypto assets suspected of illicit activity connections without the necessity of formal legal processes.
Further provisions allow authorities to secure crypto assets straight from exchanges and custodian wallet providers. Moreover, these authorities will have the power to eliminate crypto assets, if necessary. Although the method to be used has not been explicitly mentioned, the traditional approach to disposing of crypto tokens, known as 'burning', involves their transfer to a burn wallet address, thus removing them from circulation. This law is set to be enacted on April 26.
As Cointelegraph reported in September 2022, the legislation was formulated with the primary aim of intensifying the authorities' crackdown on crypto-aided criminal undertakings including scams, cybercrime, and drug trafficking. The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill includes the provision for authorities to reclaim criminally-used crypto assets even without initial arrests as certain individuals may elude conviction by residing abroad.
However, Cointelegraph has recently reported the claims of a UK resident who lost roughly $46,000 to crypto fraudsters. The victim expressed his concern that the UK authorities may lack the capability to efficiently address crypto crimes against its citizens.
In another development, the UK government has expressed intentions of instituting new laws to regulate stablecoins and crypto staking in the coming six months. During a crypto-focused event hosted by Coinbase in London on February 19, the Treasury's Economic Secretary Bim Afolami revealed the government's goal of finalizing the regulations before the elections slated for no later than January 28, 2025. He asserted the government's commitment to achieve these objectives as speedily as possible. The government claims their realization is within a six-month timeframe.
Published At
3/3/2024 5:34:05 AM
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