Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025

Let us take on bitcoin gangs, urge UK police

Let us take on bitcoin gangs, urge UK police

Scotland Yard detectives want new laws to let them freeze the cryptocurrency assets of criminals in the same way they can stop them transferring funds.
The Met is lobbying the government to change the legislation to make it tougher for criminals to transfer cryptocurrency, which is used by money launderers.

Mick Gallagher, detective chief superintendent at the Met’s central specialist crime command, said that cryptocurrency such as bitcoin could not always be frozen or seized because of outdated legislation.

He told The Times: “The conversations that we’re having is about how we align cryptocurrency to the same kind of approach that we have about cash-based criminality. Cryptocurrency is invisible, it’s instant, it goes around the world, it’s not tangible.

“One of the responses we have is legislation. Because cryptocurrency, and criminality involving crypto, has developed so quickly, and because legislation is so slow, we’re having conversations now about realigning some legislation that currently applies to laundered cash to cryptocurrency.”

UK authorities use account-freezing orders to stop the movement of funds from bank accounts to tackle money laundering, corruption and terrorist financing. Gallagher said that account-freezing orders and other money laundering law applied to cash and other assets but not cryptocurrency

“It’s about definitions. In some legislation we have about account-freezing orders, the word account is a critical word. But there is no such thing as an account in the world of cryptocurrency as they use wallets. So you just have to make slight legislative tweaking so that the wording includes wallet.”

Cryptocurrency is being used in online fraud, such as investment scams, and by hackers. When the Irish health service shut down its IT systems because of a ransomware attack, hackers demanded a payment in bitcoin. Bitcoin was also demanded in the ransomware attack on the Colonial fuel pipeline in the US.

Gallagher and other senior detectives are lobbying the Home Office to make changes. He said the government had been supportive and keen to help tackle organised crime.

The Financial Conduct Authority warned last week that many cryptocurrency businesses were not meeting standards for anti-money laundering practices.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
×