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Two people have been arrested on suspicion of running an illegal exchange thought to have traded more than £1bn worth of cryptocurrency.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) searched the London offices of the suspects, aged 38 and 44, while the Metropolitan Police seized digital devices from two residential properties in the capital.
More than £1bn worth of unregistered crypto assets are believed to have been bought and sold through the exchange.
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Both suspects were interviewed under caution before being released on bail and the FCA says its investigation into the case was ongoing.
Therese Chambers, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: “The FCA has an important role to play in keeping dirty money out of the UK financial system.
“These arrests show we will do everything in our power to stop crypto firms from operating illegally in the UK.”
The arrests follow a recent global crackdown on crypto companies after the collapse of some of the biggest firms in the sector, leading to millions of people losing money they had invested in cryptocurrencies.
The high-profile implosion of FTX, the crypto exchange run by Sam Bankman-Fried, saw the mogul sentenced to 25 years in prison in the US for defrauding customers and investors.
Sam Bankman-Fried. Pic: Reuters
Meanwhile, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the founder of crypto exchange Binance, was sentenced to four months in prison in April for allowing criminals to launder money on his platform.
Zhao, who resigned from Binance…
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